And Baby Makes
by BlueBlood82
Summary: Fourth Installment of the Tough Universe - Lila and Steven anxiously await becoming parents while life happens all around them. Please join the family as Jamie and Eddie reach the life milestone of becoming grandparents!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Are you excited honey?" Eddie asked Lila as they headed to the maternity clinic at Lutheran Hospital for Lila's first ultrasound.

"Yes, I can't wait to hear the baby's heartbeat and get a little picture to show off," Lila replied.

"How's the sickness?" Over the last couple of weeks, Lila's morning sickness had increased to several times a day.

"It's the same," Lila sighed. "I throw up, I eat, and then I throw up what I ate. I'm going to talk to the doctor."

"It's normal, sweetie," Eddie soothed. "It really is. I was so sick when I was having your brother…a little less with you. It's the mark of a healthy baby but if you feel like it's too much for you, then talk to your doctor."

Lila signed in and sat down. She looked around, most of the women had their husbands there. Lila sighed and Eddie took her hand. "It's the life we chose, sweetheart," Eddie reminded her. "We chose men who chose a life of service. When I was sick, you barely remember that, but I had my very first radiation appointment and I was scared stiff. Dad promised me he was going to be there for me but who ended up taking me, Grandpa Frank."

"God bless, Grandpa Frank," Lila laughed. "You know he offered to go to the childbirth class to refresh his memory incase Steven is at a fire when the baby is born?"

Eddie laughed, "For ninety-four he is feisty. I think that's how he's still with us."

Lila smile, "I know he's getting worse, he's on the oxygen more now and…do you think he'll see the baby born?"

"Lila the doctors haven't even dared to put an estimate on Grandpa Frank. He will be here long after the baby comes, believe you me."

"Lila Tenney," the nurse called out.

Lila and Eddie stood up and followed her. Lila was weighed, "111 lbs, you have gained five pounds since your last appointment."

"That's a little much isn't it, considering I can't keep food down?" Lila asked.

"Well, it's not just food, honey," Eddie replied. "Let's just relax." Eddie shook her head. She's her father's daughter.

Lila laid down on the bed and waited for the sonogram technician to come in. "I have to pee so bad," Lila laughed. "I hate this part."

"Yes, but in a few minutes you can hear the baby's heart and see it's little body. Dad is so excited to see the picture."

"Steven is too, his parents weren't as excited as we hoped."

"You two haven't been married that long, honey," Eddie reasoned. "But if you have this gift, and it is a gift, then you accept it like you promised when you got married."

"Hello, Lila, I'm Misty, I'll be doing you ultrasound today." Misty was very tall, with flowing dark hair. She made Eddie and Lila feel smaller than they actually were. "Lie back and we'll get a look at that little one."

Misty put the cold gel on Lila's belly and slowly started to move the transducer around. "There we go," she smiled when she found the baby. Misty studied the screen, "Oh boy!"

"What?" Lila held tight to Eddie's hand in fear. "What's wrong?"

Misty smiled, "Nothing at all. I'm just going to get Dr. Mianni."

Lila looked up at Eddie, tears already streaming down her cheeks. "Mom, there's something wrong with it," Lila hiccupped.

"Hush, now," Eddie comforted not for the first time when Lila got upset wishing Jamie was there. "It's all right, baby. She said nothing was wrong, just relax.'

A minute later, the doctor came in. "I'm sorry, Lila. Misty is a newer tech and she wanted me to confirm what she saw. There's no reason to cry."

The doctor turn the screen, "Do you see that little spot there with the blink? That is your baby and its heart beat."

"Is it okay?" Eddie asked for Lila.

"It's fine," Dr. Mianni replied. "And so is this baby. You're having twins, Lila."

Lila went to crying from fear to crying for joy in less than a minute. The doctor turned on the sound and two very strong heartbeats filled the room.

"Oh my God, Mom!" Lila gasped. "Oh my God!"

"Congratulations, baby," Eddie replied kissing her head. "Can we have two copies of the pictures?"

Lila looked at her mom, "What? Dad wants to start a book for the baby or babies as the case is now. He is so excited."

Lila smiled and chatted with Eddie while the doctor did the internal exam. "You are right on target for twins, Lila. I know the morning sickness is a little intense, that's because of the double hormones so if it gets too bad, call my office."

"I was thinking it was a little much, but now it makes more sense," Lila laughed, sitting up and taking the copies of the pictures.

On the way out she made her appoint for the next month then headed out with Eddie to go to lunch. "Do you want to stop by the firehouse to see Steven?" Eddie asked.

"No, I think I'll wait until we're at home to tell him. You want to stop by 1 PP?"

"Oh no, I have had enough of that place to last me a lifetime. The last time I was there working…."

Lila squeezed Eddie's hand, "I know Mom. I know…"

Eddie and Lila had a celebratory lunch, then headed for home. "Well, how is our girl?" Frank asked. "The baby okay?"

"Oh yes, everything is just fine," Eddie replied wanting to tell Jamie and Frank at the same time. "What time did Jamie say he was going to be home?"

"He said six," Frank replied. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Beef stew," Eddie replied. "The Irish kind." She got to work on carrots and potatoes to put in the stew. Once it was on the heat, Eddie sat down in the living room with Frank. "How you feeling, Dad?"

"Good, I had a good day. Joey's Molly came by and Linda was here for a bit too. Jack is so happy with Rita and I think she will fit in just right as the Commissioner's wife. Those my dear are huge shoes to fill."

Eddie blushed, "I'm not that much of an asset to him. Jamie is the one they all look at."

"Jamie is who he is because of you," Frank told Eddie. She smiled and looked at the clock, almost six.

"You're anxious to tell him something," Frank laughed. "Or is it to show off your grandbaby? Trust me there is nothing like it, I've been a grandpa five times over. I can't wait for my great-grandchild."

Eddie smiled, 'I'm anxious because he's been working too late again."

"He's fine, he's strong and fine," Frank smiled and went back to watching the news.

Jamie let himself in the backdoor at 6:02. He was excited to see the picture of his first grandchild. "Eddie! Dad!" Jamie called not seeing either one in the kitchen. "In here," Eddie called hurrying to her purse to get the picture out.

Jamie pulled her in as she passed the door way and kissed her. "Hello, Beauty…" He laughed and snuggled her close.

"Hello…What did you do?" Eddie laughed.

"I screwed up big time, forgot to get the milk," Jamie laughed. "Nothing, I'm just excited to see that picture."

Eddie pushed open the kitchen door, sure enough, the milk was on the table. "I was going to get it when you ambushed me. Sit down and I'll show you both together."

Jamie sat down on the couch and kicked off his shoes. He removed his leg brace and rubbed the skin under his sock. "Sore?" Frank asked.

"Irritated," Jamie replied. "It's no big deal."

All of the remaining deficits and problems from his stroke Jamie considered to be "no big deal."

Eddie returned the ultrasound picture. "Okay…here you go… This here is his or her little head, and that's the spine forming…and that…" She pointed to Baby B. "Is the other little head and part of a shoulder…"

"Wait a minute…" Frank said sitting up as Jamie's face broke into a huge smile.

"Twins," Eddie confirmed with a smile of her own. "Lila is a little freaked but she knows she'll have all the support in the world."

Jamie kissed Eddie's lips, "This Sunday, we're ordering out for Indian!"

A few blocks away Lila set the table and waited for Steven to come home while she roasted a chicken. She put her hands on her belly and smiled, "Hi, babies…Mommy is so excited to meet you in six months and Daddy is going to be so excited too. Whether you are boys, girls, or one of each, it won't matter to us. We are going to love you…" She heard Steven's key in the door.

Lila turned and smiled at her husband when he stepped inside. "There's my handsome man," she sighed and moved over to hug him. "Oh, you smell like smoke."

Steven nodded, "Two alarm on the other side of town. No one hurt, we even got the furry critters out. Those signs, please save my dogs, they work…"

Steven dropped into the big old leather chair they bought second hand at a yard sale. "How was your day?"

"It was good. Mom and I went to my doctor's appointment and to lunch," Lila replied. "And we made some lists of things we'll need to get for the when the babies are born." Lila handed the list to Steven.

"A new house…" Steven began reading, not comprehending yet that Lila had said "babies". "Two cribs, two bouncy seats…Honey, I know your parents really want to help with the baby but it doesn't need a duplicate of everything at their house!"

Lila started to laugh, "I guess I should have said four cribs, and four bouncy seats…" Lila draped her arms around Steven's shoulders holding the ultrasound pictures in front of him.

"Is this from today? Did the doctor say the baby was okay?" Steven asked rubbing his wife's arms.

"She said they are both fine," Lila said softly. "We're having twins, Steven."

If Steven wasn't sitting down, he'd have fallen down. "Tw…Twins? Like two babies at once?"

Steven wasn't sure he was ready for one child, especially one being born into the Reagan family and all that entailed.

"Yes, I was surprised too." She moved around and sat on Steven's lap. "Mom offered to help of course. She was telling Dad and Grandpa tonight and we'll tell the family on Sunday. How do you feel about this?"

Steven sighed, "Doesn't really matter does it? We are having twins…and that is a blessing it's just…"

"Just?" Lila asked trying not to get upset until she listened.

"We are just married, we are just starting out. We don't have money for things like a new house and everything. You won't be able to go back to school for a while…we won't' have two incomes for years."

Lila nodded, "I know. I'm sure we can get some things second hand. We don't have to get a house, we can just get a bigger apartment."

Steven smiled and rubbed Lila's arms, "Yeah, we can do this…I just panicked for a minute but we can do this."

Lila kissed Steven softly on the lips, "We can do anything together. We're having twins, Steven. In six months we will have two boys, two girls, or one of each…we'll have a family."

Steven smiled and kissed Lila's head, "Yes, we will. Our own little family, Lila. Our own perfect little family."

 **A/N: Two new little Reagans, well Tenneys, are on their way. Are Lila and Steven really ready for this? I hope you enjoy this installment as much as the previous three. Special thanks to Lawslave, Werks, and Yanks20 for assisting me with various portions of this story. This proved to be more challenging than other stories and their feedback was helpful along the way!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"How are you feeling, Lila?" Linda asked as they women worked on Sunday dinner.

"Okay, the morning sickness tends to end by about 2 or 3 in the afternoon and I have to pee about three times an hour but aside from that I feel good. The doctor is happy with my weight and all, I'm doing really well."

"That's good to hear," Erin replied hugging her goddaughter with one arm. "Did you get a picture?"

"Yeah, we have a couple of pictures but I figured I'd just show you after dinner," Lila brushed it off and worked on the mashed potatoes. She and Steven planned to tell everyone else about the twins including her brother during the meal.

Eddie hid a smile as she worked on snapping green beans. She was having some trouble with them given her left hand was swelling again more than it had been. Jamie hadn't noticed it yet and she didn't plan to mention it.

Linda however notices when she called for the beans and Eddie was only half done. She took Eddie's enlarged left hand in her own, "How long has it been like this?"

Lila turned to see, "Mom? Was it like that at the doctor?"

Eddie shook her head, "It's fine, I slept on my arm the other night, and it made some fluid build. I'm fine, stop fussing and not a word to Jamie."

Erin raised an eyebrow, "Eddie, he should know so he can help."

"He's got new hires coming and he's looking to fill two seats on the EDP commission, he's under stress and I don't want to make it worse."

"Mom, if it's still like that when we have Wednesday dinner…" Lila warned but Eddie brushed her off. "Help me finish these beans."

"Steven, you are very quiet today," Joey commented as the men watched basketball on TV. "That was some fire on 96th the other day."

"Yeah, it was. We got everyone out alive, that's a good day at the office," Steven replied sipping his beer. "I read in the paper that you finally got that Easter Bunny guy."

Joey nodded, "Yeah, he raped fifteen women but we got him."

"All that counts at the end of the day son," Jamie reminded his boy. "You worked hard on that case, you treated each and every woman with dignity and compassion and slowly through that you got enough information to nail him. You did me proud, you did this family proud."

Danny and Frank quickly agreed raising their glasses to Joey. "He was attaching older women, you know? All the while I kept thinking about Mom, Aunt Erin, Aunt Linda, if it was one of them, how would I want the detective to react."

"That's a good rule of thumb in SVU," Frank replied. "I was always surprised that your Dad never tried to transfer into it."

Jamie raised an eyebrow at Frank, "You'd never have signed off on that and by the time I was able to move up, I had two kids and an ailing wife. I did my best and I liked working with the kids."

"You did well son, the department has never had clearance rates as high as it has now, and you're training of young Jack…"

Danny smiled, for all the times he poked at Jamie, he was glad he took his Jack under his wing. Jack had a fiancée now, a girl ten years his junior, but with spunk and fire. Rita and Joey's girl, Molly got along very well.

Jamie was watching the clock, "I'm going to see what is going on with dinner."

Jamie pushed up and headed to the kitchen just as Erin emerged with the first of the side dishes, "I was just about to call you. Dinner's ready."

This weeks' table was missing Jack and Sean, but included Rita and Molly. They had each lent a hand to the preparation of the family meal. "Steven," Jamie said surprising everyone, even Eddie. "Would you like to say grace?"

Steven smiled, "I would." He bowed his head and asked the prayer over the food and the family. Jamie carved the roast and began to pass the plates. As the aroma of the roasted lamb met Lila's nostrils, she covered her mouth and bolted towards the bathroom with great speed.

Erin laughed, "I guess it was too much for her." Steven started to rise to check on his wife but Jamie held up his hand, "Let her have her privacy, son. She'll call you if she feels the need."

Steven had a hard time sitting still, but soon Lila returned, offering a smile and resumed her seat. Joey had made her plate minus the offensive lamb. No one mentioned her hurried departure from the table, no one wanted to embarrass her.

The table talk centered on Steven's fire and Joey's big collar until the family began to sit back, satisfied. Lila looked at Steven, "Go ahead honey," she pressed.

Steven smiled, "Uh, while most of us are here together, Lila and I have an announcement."

"You can't know the sex, not already," Linda surmised.

"No, no that's not it…but we figure that we might as well give you all a head start on your shopping. This week, Lila and I found out we are going to have twins…"

"Oh my goodness!" Linda hurried to hug Lila followed by Erin and Danny. Finally Joey hugged his little sister, "Way to go, Sis! You're going to name one after me if you have boys right?"

Lila hugged Joey back, "We shall see, brother dear," she laughed. "I think one Joseph Reagan is enough for now."

"This calls for a toast," Frank announced. "Danny, pour the champagne except for Lila…there's cider for her."

"You mean you knew?" Danny asked looking at Frank. "We police commissioner's know everything."

When the house was quiet and Frank sound asleep, Jamie and Eddie went upstairs to their room. Jamie sat on the bed, removed his pants, socks, and leg brace. "Eddie, can you get me some of that triple a cream?"

Eddie quickly produced the cream and handed it to Jamie, "Is your leg swelling in the brace, honey?" she asked.

"No, it's just so hot that my foot starts to sweat and it's rubbing. Do you think it'll go over my sock?"

Eddie thought, "We can try tomorrow. Do you need help with your shirt?"

"No, I got it." Jamie sighed. It wasn't likely Eddie could help him with his buttons anyway. He'd caught a few glimpses of her hand at dinner, it was swollen so badly that it would certainly impede her ability to use her hand.

Jamie undressed and got into bed. Eddie spent time in the bathroom putting on her creams so Jamie didn't notice how swelled up she was. If he wasn't working so hard, she's tell him outright, but he was and she was concerned for him.

When Eddie got into bed and rolled over to curl next to Jamie, he moved away. "What's wrong? Didn't we have a lovely evening? Everyone is so happy for Lila."

"I'm happy for her too," Jamie replied. "I'm very happy that our daughter is having twins and that she's settled and happy."

"Then what's wrong?" Eddie asked again. "We always cuddle up?"

Jamie sighed and pulled her in close. She was going to ignore it again, and in a few days he's wake up to her running a fever and feeling sick. Jamie put a kiss on her head then got up. He reached for his cane taking very careful steps without the security of his brace. He tossed two pillows on to the bed.

"Your leg is hurting you that much?" Eddie asked growing concerned.

"Move over and switch sides with me," Jamie told her. "If you aren't going to look out for your health, then I will."

"Jamie it just started and I did my pumps twice today," Eddie replied. "I slept on my arm a few nights ago…"

Jamie got back into bed with a warm massage oil in his hand. "Give it here…" When Eddie held back her said it again. "Give it."

Jamie took her hand in his, the rings he'd had sized were cutting into her flesh. He shook his head and gently began to rub the oil into the tender stretched skin. Jamie frowned as his fingers left indents on her hand. "You remember when you were having Lila. Your feet and ankles would swell like this and I would rub them for you. Eddie, I'm not sick anymore, baby. Stop hiding…understand me?"

Eddie nodded, "I know, I know, I'm sorry…" She hissed as his hands worked on the tender skin. "I'm going to wrap you and you'll get this arm elevated and you will not leave this bed until I say it's okay. I want this hand back to normal by Wednesday dinner or I'm taking you to Dr. Brady. We have too much going on in our lives now to risk your health. Joey is finally happy, he's getting a commendation, and Lila…she needs you, Eddie. She will need you more now more than ever."

"Oh that feels so good," Lila moaned as Steven rubbed her shoulders. She had a headache, a common symptom of her pregnancy but couldn't take anything for it.

"I'm glad I can help with this at least," Steven replied kissing her neck. "I'm glad everyone took the news so well."

"My family always did love babies, don't worry, honey your folks will come around, if not now, when they are here." Lila reached up to rub his arm.

Steven sighed and finished his massage, he lie down beside Lila and pulled her close. "I hope so, baby, I really do."

Lila kissed the tip of her husband's nose, "I know they will. These babies are the best part of us, Steven. The very best part of us."

Lila dozed off in her husband's arms, for him, sleep was a bit more elusive, but finally as he held all that mattered to him in the world in his arms, Steven finally relaxed and slipped off to dreamland dreaming of the life he'd share with his Lila and the babies she carried.

 **A/N: The response to the first chapter was overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! This story is much longer than the previous one as Lila and Steven become parents, Joey and Molly begin to consider a future, and Eddie and Jamie continue to stand together through thick and thin. Please continue to read and review, your feedback is always cherished.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Josh and Maura Tenney sat uneasily in the Reagan living room. Eddie and Jamie had invited them to Wednesday dinner to celebrate Lila and Steven's announcement about the twins. "Eddie will be down in a few minutes," Jamie told them as he stepped off the bottom step and headed to the living room. "I hope you don't mind that we had dinner catered, Eddie's been in bed for a few days."

Lila looked up at her father, "I didn't know Mom was sick, we could have rescheduled."

"She's not sick," Jamie replied. "It's her hand. She's got another blockage but I've been forcing her to rest it and it's going down on it's own."

"Dad, if Mom is in bed who's been helping with Grandpa?" Lila asked.

"I don't need help," Frank griped. "I've been running Eddie's tea up to her and Joey's Molly is coming by to check on things. It's good having another nurse in the family. Linda's been by three times since Sunday."

Joey smiled, he was glad Molly was fitting in so well.

Joey looked at his sister and sat on the couch arm next to her. "You don't worry about this stuff, Lil. You have enough work to do making the babies…I want healthy babies for my nieces or nephews."

Steven smiled, "Healthy babies, that's our goal too, Joe. Mom, Dad, did you see the picture yet?"

It upset Steven his parents weren't more enthusiastic about the impending birth. "Yes, we saw…" Maura replied. "They are…It's hard to tell what they are like yet even on these new ultrasounds. Lila, are you going to have any diagnostic testing done?"

Jamie's back straightened but he let his daughter handle the odd query. "Yes, we plan to have the standards tests but unless the doctor thinks I need something more involved no. My mother didn't have any done and Joey and I were fine. In fact, there's never been a birth issue on the Reagan side of the family."

Joey started to laugh, "Sis, have you heard the story of your birth?"

"I mean I was born healthy," Lila laughed. Josh Tenney's eyebrows rose.

"Lila was born in the middle of Hurricane Megan," Jamie explained. "She was a breech birth and Eddie had a hard time for bit but Lila didn't have any ill effects. My Eddie on the other hand was advised not to have more children."

Maura sighed, "It's not that we aren't happy for you both, we are," she began. "It's just that we both feel Steven and Lila are not ready to have one baby, never mind twins."

"Well, ready or not, hear they come," Eddie retorted from the staircase. She had her arm and hand wrapped and had brought down her pillow like Jamie told her to do. He had really laid into her for not taking care of herself on Monday night and she did not want to upset him to that degree again.

"I don't mean to offend you by saying that," Maura jumped quickly. "But economically, they can't afford a baby or fit one into that little apartment. Lila insisted on living in Bay Ridge, even with Steven's salary…"

Jamie took Eddie's pillows and sat her in his recliner with her arm elevated. "They live in Bay Ridge because it's near Steven's fire station," Jamie replied. "And there's more than enough room here for them if they so choose."

Joey stood up seeing the situation needed to be diffused, "How about we go and eat. I'm sure everyone is hungry, then we can talk about this other stuff, but for now, let's eat and try to be happy that soon this family is going to grow by two."

Joey and Jamie served that night in spite of Eddie constantly insisting she wanted to do it. Frank said grace and the conversation shifted to Steven's latest fire and Joey's new case.

"Jamie, I remember you said at the rehearsal dinner you were planning to retire when the Mayor came up for election, is that still the plan?"

Jamie sighed, "We'll see. If this Mayor is reelected I might consider staying on but a lot of it has to do with my health and Eddie's health. Still, I think that if I do retire, the city will be in good hands with my nephew, Jack."

"If the Mayor appoints another Reagan," Joshua piped up.

"Why wouldn't he? The city has been in the hands of a Reagan or a Reagan trainee for nearly fifty years now," Frank replied. "And it gets safer by the year."

Eddie set her eyes on Maura, "I have to admit, I was thrown a little at the prospect of being a grandmother before I was sixty, but you're already one…Is it really as wonderful as Frank claims it is? Grandparenthood?"

"It can be," Maura replied. "But our daughter doesn't live so close by so we don't see the baby that much. I'm sure Lila will be here often when the twins are born. Was it that way for you and your mother, Eddie?"

"No," Jamie said quickly. The wound of losing Peter was still very fresh and he didn't wish to have Eddie upset. "No, Eddie's mother died when she was fifteen and she and her father were estranged for many years. We relied on each other when the children were born with my dad and family as back up. I expect nothing less of Lila and Steven, they will have one another to count on, but Eddie will be here for Lila and for that I'm sure we're grateful."

"Steven, when a baby is born in the NYPD family, all the guys at the precinct get together and throw him a little Daddy shower…do they do something like that for the firemen?"

"They guys throw you a little party, yes. My Captain is thrilled at expanding the engine company's family."

Steven looked over at his parents, pain flashing in his eyes. He remembered the day he called his parents to tell them about the baby.

" **Hey, honey," his mother greeted on the telephone.**

" **Hey Mom, is Dad home? I have some really good news."**

 **Maura called Joshua to the phone. "We saw the news of your rescue on TV. Are you getting a commendation son?" Joshua asked.**

" **Uh, no but I do have really great news," Steven was beaming and holding Lila's hand. "Lila and I are going to have a baby, Lila's pregnant."**

 **The silence on the end of the line was shocking. It lasted nearly a minute before Steven prompted, "Mom, Dad, say something."**

 **Maura sighed, "Well, we expected this eventually but not quite so soon. It's too soon, Steven. You two have barely been married…"**

" **Mom, that doesn't matter. I love Lila and Lila loves me. We're going to have baby, your grandbaby. She's due in September."**

" **Well, if you are happy with this Steve, then we are," Joshua replied. "But your mother and I both feel that this is a little too soon."**

 **When Steven hung up the phone he sighed, "They aren't happy for us, Lila. I don't understand why."**

"It's always a joy when one of my officers becomes a parent, and when we had these two then that was a party because it was expanding the Commissioner's family."

Another uncomfortable silence fell over the table. Lila was feeling very uneasy and upset. She didn't like feeling like she was being examined. She played with her food more than eating it.

Frank smiled at her, "If your stomach is bothering you, I will wrap up your food and you can finish it later."

"It's fine, Grandpa, thanks." Lila forced herself to eat more.

When the dinner wound down, the conversation ramped up. Maura Tenney was short in stature, not unlike Eddie, but very long on opinions. She glanced between Steven and Lila, watching Lila's interaction with her grandfather before speaking up again. "It's just we're concerned about you two having to struggle because you couldn't wait. How long can the babies live in a small apartment? What about food? Have you thought how you're going to feed them? This isn't just one baby we're talking about; you need double the diapers, the clothes, two cribs and it all adds up. Who's going to pay for it? Steve doesn't make a lot of money to pay for all the necessities plus rent and food for both of you."

Steven gripped his fork sensing the conversation escalating when it should be a joyous occasion. He knew this was going to be a bad idea, and if his mother didn't stop going on the attack, he knew his father-in-law was going to lose his temper. He tried to keep things calm, "We both will mom, we'll work it out." He scowled at her hoping that would end the conversation. Unfortunately Maura didn't have enough say yet.

"Well I'm just saying, Lila you are still in school, and it's social work school so that isn't going to bring in a lot, you are going to need to find other things. Our Steve won't be paying for everything, fire fighters don't make a lot to start until they become captains. We would love grandbabies, but now just isn't the right time for you. You're both still so young, what's the rush? Wait a few years, give these up for adoption. If you can't provide for them, it'd be selfish to keep them."

Steven stole a glance at Lila, her lip was quivering. He snuck a look at Frank and Joey, both were staring at their plates but Joey looked ready to jump if needed. Finally he looked at Jamie's whose gaze was fixed on Lila watching her reactions. He didn't date look at Eddie. Steven was about to speak up again when his father cut him off.

"We're just trying to look out for you son; for your future, before you end up on the street with nothing," Joshua began. "Your mother is right, give the twins up, you can always have more when you're ready and more responsible. You two can barely take care of yourselves, what are you going to do with two babies? You can start saving now, there's a great trust fund I saw on TV for parents to start collecting towards their child's futures. I can send it to you in an email later so you can look into it for your future children's education."

"You may send it to me…" Steven began. Lila looked up at him, horrified before letting out a sharp sob and running from the table.

Steven stood up to follow but Jamie cleared his throat, "I think under the circumstances I would be the best person…" Jamie stood and looked over at Joey, sending him a silent message to keep things under control.

Eddie lifted her head and pinned both of Steven's parents with her most piercing Serbian gaze. "How dare you?" she bit out through clenched teeth. "How dare you even suggest it! Steven does well enough at the fire department and my daughter will not be going to work carrying twins! She has an inheritance from her granddad that can help until the babies are older! We will help them if they need it. That is what parents do!"

Joey sighed, "Mom…calm down."

"No, Joseph, and if you plan to side against your own blood, you can get out of this house!"

Joey knew to shut up when his mother got that tone and just let her go. However, his claws her unsheathed when Joshua fired back at Eddie, "What would you know about what parents do? Your daughter is a spoiled brat, your son only has success because of his name and you…Our son won't be taking your father's dirty money!"

That stung, Eddie's eyes filled with tears, the shot at her parenting and her father's memory cutting her to the core. Eddie pushed back from the table, knocking her chair over as she went. Joey rushed to follow his mother leaving the Tenneys with Frank.

He looked at the two of them, his standard fatherly stare making them squirm, "Well…it seems we've lost a few diners…Steven, would you care to set out dessert…You're folks and I, we're going to have a chat…"

 **A/N: Uh oh – Frank is going to have his say, lol. The Tenneys don't know the depth of family loyalty their son has married into. Thank you so much for your reviews and staying through this series. I mapped it out the other day and there will be thirteen stories in this series. I hope you stick with me through this saga.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Jamie found Lila had run to Frank's bedroom, the former study where she used to play as a child. She was curled around herself, both arms protecting her belly as she sat on the old sofa along the wall. Jamie sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to his chest, "Ssh, it's all right, Kitten, don't pay them any attention at all."

Lila hiccupped and held her belly tighter, "They're my babies," she sobbed in her father's arms. "They're mine, not theirs. They can't have them."

"Ssh," Jamie sighed. "Listen to me." He moved her face to look at his. "No one is trying to take your babies from you. Maura and Joshua, I have no idea why they are acting this way, but they are just spouting their own frustrations. You and Steven will be terrific parents. If you can't afford things right now, you will. Mom and I were talking and we can help you with a down payment on house and some of the big money. I know you weren't expecting to get pregnant so soon, but trust me…" Jamie wiped her tears. "Those babies are a blessing from God. It's a blessing to get pregnant so easily…saves a lot of heartache."

Jamie kissed Lila's head, "So you dry your tears. No one is taking those babies or making you do anything you don't want to do with them!"

Lila sniffled, "I already love these babies, Daddy and I'm scared that maybe Steven will listen to his parents. He's not in here, you are."

Jamie laughed, "I told him I wanted to come. I had a feeling my Kitten need her dear old Dad to give her a big hug and chase all those bad feelings away." Jamie stroked Lila's hair, "You look so much like your mother, such a beauty. I feel pretty sorry for Maura and Josh out there with Mom, she was pretty mad. Maybe we should go out there and rescue them. They're not used to use Reagans, how we take care of each other, they know not what they do…"

Lila giggled, "Yeah, we should go rescue them. I'm sorry I lost it…"

"Lila, believe me, you will lose it over things much simpler than this. This was your maternal instinct developing. When you have the babies, it will come out more like Mom's but someone attacked your children, your family and you reacted. When you are crying because we ran out of red wine vinegar, then talk to me."

Lila raised her eye brow…

 **May, 2024**

 **Little Joey Reagan was sitting on the floor in the living room play with his Tonka truck. His Mommy was in the kitchen making dinner, and his Daddy was going to be home any minute now.**

 **When Jamie arrived home, he saw Joey sitting on the couch crying his little eyes out. He could hear Eddie sobbing in the kitchen.**

" **Joey?" Jamie scooped his son into his arms. "What's wrong little man?"**

 **Joey sniffled, "Mommy crying. She said bad word and she's crying."**

 **Jamie kissed the side of Joey's head and set him back on the sofa going to check on Eddie. She was almost seven months along with their second child and had been having some pretty crazy crying jags lately.**

 **Jamie went to the kitchen and slid his arms around her from behind, "What's wrong with my pretty girl…"**

 **Eddie turned in his arms, sobbing into his chest. It was so ridiculous she even batted and eye at this but here she was hysterical.**

" **Hey, hey it's all right," Jamie soothed. "It's all right, baby. I'm here. I'm home. Sorry I'm late, were you scared?" Jamie cuddled Eddie closer.**

" **No," Eddie sniffled. "I wanted to make you a salad…but we're out."**

" **Out of salad?" Jamie asked confused.**

" **Out of vinegar…" Eddie sniffled. "I wanted to make you that salad you like and I can't do it. I wanted to go out but Joey was playing…I'm sorry."**

"She didn't!" Lila laughed at the story not feeling so silly about her own tears.

"She did," Jamie replied. "Mom was never very emotional except when she was pregnant and when she was having you, Joe was always so sensitive to her moods he'd be upset…"

Jamie put his arm around Lila, "Let's go, there are times to release your feelings and time to buck up and stand your ground, not is a buck up time…" Jamie kissed Lila's head. "Come on, Kitten. I'm right beside you."

Joe gently knocked on the bedroom door to his parents' room before walking in. His heart ripped apart seeing his mom laying on the bed curled in a ball amid a fit of sobs. He knew the wound of her father's death was still bleeding even if Eddie did a good job of hiding it from the rest of the family, even Jamie. The words uttered from Steven's mother and father just pour salt in it.

"Mom," Joe crossed the room sitting on the bed beside her, placing a hand on her back.

Eddie sat up slightly, knowing her Jamie was busy with their daughter, Joey was the next best thing. She shifted, but didn't speak, only to sob into her son's arms. "My Dad made mistakes but did it..."

Eddie choked again on her tears laying on her son's chest. "Granddad meant well and that is between you and him, not for them to bring up." Joey stroked Eddie's back, "Mom, if you want me to I'll go down there and toss those people out on the asses. Steven too for not speaking up for Lila. He and I are going to have issues."

Eddie laughed a little, she was so proud of how protective Joey was of her and his sister, but the hateful words kept replaying in her mind. "The money he left for you kids..."

"Mom," Joey soothed. "Stop worrying about that. It was that women being stupid. Give the babies up for adoption, who says that about their own grandchildren? They are not nice people, Mom." Joey rocked a little bit, "Now, I want you to just lie down for a few minutes. Put your arm up on the pillows to make Dad happy, and when you feel better, you can come back down."

"I know I've been crying a lot lately, but Joey, I'm not some shrinking violet that needs fussing," Eddie admonished her son.

"I know, but maybe I need to fuss over you a little' Joey arranged two pills for Eddie's arm. When you feel like you won't get so upset come down, I'm pretty sure that by now Grandpa has taken care of the problem."

Eddie laughed, "Can you check on your sister for me? She was so upset, I wanted to go talk to her but…" Joey nodded. "I'll check on her. Rest your arm…"

Joey galloped down the steps but stopped when he heard his grandfather's gravelly voice.

As soon as Steven left the room, Frank offered Joshua and Maura his trademark smirk. "I didn't want to say this in front of the boy, he's going to have his hands full with my granddaughter when he gets home for not shooting you down immediately."

"Listen…" Joshua began but Frank cut him off.

"I'm talking now, son and it's only by the grace of God and my son that you're both still sitting at this table. Believe me if this was still my house, I'd have had you both removed bodily, but it's not, it belongs to Jamie and Eddie now so I'll give them that honor if they so desire it. Now, indulge and old, sick man…I'm going to spare you the Catholic dogma, you sit in church every Sunday, I don't have to go through the whole spiel about children being a blessing and Lila and Steven making a vow to accept whatever babies God granted and all that nonsense…you know it. I'm just going to say this…when you are as old as I am…and as sick as I am your grandchildren are the ones that are going to take you to doctors, they are going to play cards with you, and do all the things you did for them as kids. Your children, too busy or in my case, older and some sick themselves…it's the grandchildren!"

Maura sighed, "We never said we didn't want to have grandchildren, all we said was our Steven can't afford to support that family on his own while Lila follows in her mother's footsteps…"

"Thank God for that," Frank spoke up. "Eddie was a wonderful Mom, both of those kids grew up into loving, caring individuals that know how to think for themselves. I'd caution you to refrain from those kinds of comments. Bottom line is this, you're getting a gift, two for the price of one from your son that you love very much and good solid woman that he chose to be his wife. As for the money, Peter Janko earned a lot of honest money too and he's left that money to his grandchildren…I'm not long for this world, I'm 94 years old with a lung disease, I'm going to kick the bucket sooner rather than later and they will have an inheritance from me. The money isn't the issue, so…what's the real reason you're against this?"

"Those are the reasons but…" Maura sighed. "You've alleviated most of our fears. You are right, if our son is happy then we should be grateful…We aren't in a position to help them much of course. The Fire Department didn't fare as well under Mayor Poole as the NYPD did and well that stretched out budget a bit."

It suddenly clicked in Frank's head what this grudge was all about. There'd been an article in the Daily News recently that discussed how hard Jamie fought for his stress and EDP training programs during the fiscal analysis. There had been references to Frank doing the same thing regarding his stress training and how it affected the fire department and other services during that budget year. Joshua and Maura were holding that against their own unborn grandchildren.

"So that's what this is about?" Frank glared at them. "Well I'm sorry you were negatively impacted but I do not regret it and if the fire commissioner had such programs for his men, I'd have gladly let it cut into salaries on my side if it meant saving lives. That said…this is a pretty lousy way to get back at me! You want me, I'm here…don't you dare use my daughter-in-law or my granddaughter to do that again!" Frank stood up from the table, his cane clicking as he exited to the kitchen. "Steven, please see to your parents. I don't wish to see them again tonight or for a while. This was all about me and something I did as Commissioner, it had nothing to do with you and Lila. I'm so sorry."

Steven rubbed Frank's back, his trained eye noticing that the older man was struggling. "Frank…Pop…Where's your inhaler?"

"Drawer," Frank wheezed feeling his chest locking up. The entire family was insane tonight and it had taken it's toll. Steven grabbed it for him and helped into a hard chair. "There you go, try to breathe in…I'm going to get Jamie."

Before Steven moved, Jamie and Lila headed out of the study. Both immediately ran to Frank's side, "Grandpa…" Lila tilted Frank forward, "Let your body go…just relax all your muscles…" She rubbed his back gently, they were all accustomed to Frank's spells now.

When Steven did not come out of the kitchen, Joey poked his head in, "Steven…your folks want to say…Grandpa!"

Josh and Maura watched from the kitchen doorway as the family helped Frank. Joey looked up at Maura, "Please get my mother, she's the only one that can really calm him down."

The anger aside for the moment, Maura hurried upstairs. "Eddie!" she called out. "Eddie!"

Eddie heard the urgency in Maura's voice and hurried to the door. "What's happened?"

"I'm so sorry, but there's something wrong with Frank, Joe said to come and get you."

"Oh, God…" Eddie hurried down the stairs. She turned on a heel glaring at Joshua, Maura was the mouthpiece, but Eddie knew enough about their family dynamic to know Joshua was at the root of the problem.

"I hope you are very proud of yourself that you upset a pregnant woman and a sick old man, great job!" Eddie knelt in front of Frank. "Hey, Dad, look at me…lean against my chest…"

Jamie and Lila stood back as Eddie worked her magic. In fifteen minutes, she had Frank breathing better and with Steven and Jamie's help, he was on his way to bed with his oxygen. He had more and more of these spells lately, Eddie made a note to call his doctor and have his daily medications adjusted.

Eddie looked up at Maura and Joshua, "It was nice having you, I'm sorry it went the way that it did. Hopefully, in a few weeks when the kids decided if they want to know the sex of their twins we can try this again, for now…goodnight." She opened the door and stood waiting for them to take their leave.

 **A/N: No one wants to deal with Frank Reagan…He had their number long before they were ready for him too. The Tenneys are not very nice people…Steven will have all the family he needs with Jamie, Eddie, Joey, and Frank never mind the other Reagans. This rode to parenthood might have it's bumps but it will be worth it in the end.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Lila had been silent most of the ride home. Steven knew she was put out with him for not speaking up at dinner, but he'd been caught so off his guard, he hadn't known what to say.

"Lil," he began as they entered their small apartment. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything I just…"

Lila raised her hand, "I do not want to hear it Steven! Tonight was a disaster. You had to know they were going to pull something like that!"

"I didn't," Steven protested. "I knew they weren't happy about the twins but I didn't know they were going to do this. I'm sorry."

Lila turned around angrily unmaking their bed, "Okay, I believe that you didn't know what they were going to say but I can't believe that you just sat there and let them say we should give up our babies! OUR BABIES!" Lila threw his pillow at him with all her weight.

"Lila," Steven moved closer. "I love you and I love the babies, honey. I just…"

"You just weren't man enough to speak up! You let them attack me, attack my family, and say we should give our babies up and you just sat there! My grandfather was more use than you were!"

"I know," Steven sighed. "I know…I'm sorry honey."

"You know something, sorry just doesn't cut it! If this is the kind of support I can expect from you, I might as well go back with my parents, they were far more supportive of me that you were today. Maybe you feel like your parents do!"

Steven sighed, "Lila…" His denial was not coming fast enough for her.

"You do!" she snapped. "You do feel this way, don't you? You don't think we're ready for these babies either! You don't want to be a father! Get out!"

Steven was shocked, usually Lila was calm and even tempered, but tonight she was a real Reagan. "Lila, I am sorry!" Steven moved and pulled her close. She fought his grip with all her strength. "Let me go! I will call my brother to…"

"Ssh…stop and listen!" Steven loosened his grip. "I love you, I love the babies, but I love and honor my parents as much as you love and honor yours. I didn't want to disrespect them but I didn't want to hurt you either. I'm sorry I didn't speak up, and I will from now on. You and the babies mean the world to me, sweetheart."

Steven kissed her head, "I promise you I will never ever do this again. I won't ever let you hang like that again. I'm sorry."

Lila let her body go limp, she was tired and still hurt, but she let Steven cradled her in his strong arms. "Let's go to bed, okay? The next ultrasound, I want to go with you. I'll rearrange things so I can be there."

Lila sighed as Steven let her over to their bed. "I know your work is important but I'd like you to be at the twenty week sonogram. They will be able to see their little features and we can find out the sexes if we decide we want to."

Steven pulled the covers over Lila, she was often very tired from the pregnancy. "We'll talk about that baby, you sleep well. I'll lock up and be right back."

Lila was crying when Steven slid into bed. "What's wrong?" he asked softly not sure if it was the same thing or something else.

"Grandpa," she sighed. "That was one of his worst in a while. He's getting sicker and…I want him to see the twins. I'm upset that your parents that don't even want the twins might see them and my grandpa that wants so badly to hold his great grandchildren…might not make it."

Steven sighed, "He'll make it, and he is the strongest man I know. He will hold those babies."

Lila laid her head on Steven's chest, "So tired…"

Steven stroked her golden hair. "Sleep, baby. Sleep…"

When Lila dozed off, Steven texted his father. "We must talk…meet me for coffee. Pick a time…"

"Cough cough. Wheeze. Cough cough cough…Wheeze Cough."

Eddie woke to that sound from a sound sleep. Jamie was sitting up beside her. "He's been doing that for at least fifteen minutes."

"I better go down and check on him," Eddie sighed. "You get more rest." She kissed his temple. "I'll call you if I need you."

Eddie slid out of bed and padded downstairs to check on Frank. "Dad…you okay?"

Frank was coughing and wheezing, holding his breathing machine tubing in his hand. He'd been doing the machine but wasn't getting much relief.

"Can't…breathe," Frank wheezed as Eddie climbed onto the bed. She held the nebulizer and turned up the delivery. "Lie back and try to breathe in as much as you can." Eddie held his hand and stroked Frank's brow. "Easy…"

Jamie could hear the coughing continue, he pulled on his robe and brace and headed downstairs, "Eddie?"

"He's pretty tight, if his oxygen level doesn't come up in a few minutes, I'm going to call a bus." She held the pulse ox machine and watched the number hover at about 88%. Frank was getting incredibly tired trying to breathe in the medication.

"I'm calling," Jamie sighed seeing his father fading. Eddie held Frank tight, supporting his back. Jamie dialed 911, "This is Commissioner Jamison Reagan, I need a bus at my home forthwith. My father is having trouble breathing."

Not ten minutes later FDNY medics were taking Frank out of the house on a stretcher. Jamie quickly got dressed and went in the bus with Frank while Eddie called Erin and Danny to meet them at Lutheran.

She arrived twenty minutes after Frank was brought in the ER. Jamie sat next to Frank's gurney, he was on an oxygen mist trying to break up the tightness in his chest. His oxygen level said 91%. Frank's mouth was open as he struggled for air.

Eddie came up behind Jamie and slid her arms around him. "How you doing, Dad?"

Frank responded by moving his hand side to side. The stress was too much for him today, Eddie felt her anger sore. "You're going to be okay, Dad. The doctors will fix you right up. Did they page Dr. Burg?"

Jamie nodded, "Woke him up out of his bed, he's on his way in."

"Good," Eddie replied. "I have been trying to get him in for a week. The medications aren't working any more. He's working too hard to breath, he's so tired."

Eddie stroked Frank's forehead. Slowly the medication began to work. Danny and Linda arrived just as the nurse's removed the mist and fixed an oxygen mask to Frank's face. "Dad, are you okay?"

Frank only nodded his head, he was too tired to talk. Erin arrived next, she hurried to her father's side. "Dad, what happened?"

Frank smiled again, still not speaking enjoying the feel of oxygen in his lungs.

"He had a couple of attacks today," Eddie explained. "This one didn't resolve so we called for help. He's doing a lot better, he came in at 88 and now he's up to 94."

Erin rubbed Eddie's arm, she was grateful for her sister-in-law. "Dad, have you been taking your medication?"

Frank nodded his answer as his pulmonologist, Dr. Burg came in. "All right, let me have some time to examine Frank. I'll be out to speak to you soon. Jamie, I assume you will be staying?"

Jamie nodded as Eddie and the rest of the family headed to the waiting room.

The doctor was with Frank twenty minutes before coming out with Jamie by his side. Eddie could read the news on her husband's face.

"We're going to admit Frank for some more tests, but it's evident just from the increase frequency of his attacks that the COPD is entering the end stage. I'd like to put him on oxygen for sleeping and if he's going to be active during the day, I'd like him to use it then too. It will help him breathe efficiently and get a benefit from doing that. I'm going to increase his inhaled steroids as well as the oral steroid."

"What's the prognosis here doc?" Danny asked point blank. Even in his mid-seventies he was a force to be reckoned with.

"Most people in the end stages live 2-4 years, but given your father's age, six months to a year," Dr. Burg replied. "That's not to say that with increased meds, a moderate exercise program, and the oxygen therapy we can't significantly improve that outlook. I wish I had better news, but at this point this is the best we can do."

Erin sighed, "Thank you doctor…" When the doctor left to see about Frank's admittance and tests the family moved together.

"I can stay over a few nights," Erin offered. "If he's getting up and down a lot you two will get tired out. I can write at night and sleep during the day."

Eddie smiled, "If it comes to that we'll appreciate it Erin, but maybe let's just start with Saturday night so you can help us with getting him to church on Sunday?"

Erin nodded as Linda spoke, "I'll come by a few times a day and check him over, make sure he's stable so we can see an attack coming and ward it off."

Jamie thanked her for that. He knew when he took the house Frank's care as he aged would fall on his shoulders, but he was grateful to have his family to back him up and offer support just as Frank would have asked them to do had he been able. Sometimes, for Jamie, being a Reagan was a pain, he still liked his privacy, but times like these, there was no other last name in the world he'd rather possess.

 **A/N: Poor Frank! He's getting a little too old to get so riled up but no worries, he'll be hanging in there for a bit. Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing so steadily, it makes the words flow so much faster. Thanks to Lawslave, Werks, and Yanks20 for their feedback and direction with this story. I required more assistance this installment than the previous ones. There are many more installments to go, I hope we'll all be together for all of them.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Joey and Jack stepped back after pulling open the door for their ladies as they were taught from a young age, that's what was done in order to be gentleman. After the girls went inside the boys followed them to a table. Jack moved to pull out the chair for Rita giving her a smile.

"Ahem," Molly cleared her throat waiting for Joey to do the same.

With both girls seated Jack took the chair between Joe and Rita. "So would you like drinks to start?" Not waiting for an answer Jack signaled the waiter ordering drinks for the table.

Rita leaned in folding her hands on the table feeling her heart speed up anytime she looked at Jack.

"So Molly how's work?" Joe asked after sipping water from his glass. Molly gave a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders looking past him at the next table. "What's wrong?" Joey asked his detective sense smarting.

"Those are the family of a boy I am caring for now," Molly replied. "And has me to wonder if they are here, who is there?"

Rita smiled, "You must have a very hard job, Molly. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to work with so many sick people."

"Actually," Molly replied. "It's something very special, being with a person in their final moments, helping their families understand what is going to happen so they are not afraid…"

Their bottle of wine arrived. Jack poured for each lady then for himself and Joey. "Let's have a toast, to a new and upcoming marriage and a new upcoming relationship, maybe both bring happiness."

"Here, here," Molly replied and toasted the glasses. They ordered some calamari and their main courses. "So Rita, how is the wedding coming?"

"It's good," Rita replied. "My assistant is a huge help in planning these things. She's going to do the cake, she does fantastic work. We're having a hard time setting a date."

"Yeah," Jack laughed. "You think you can have a chat with your Dad about that?"

"You have his ear more than I do," Joey laughed. "You know how long it took him to sign off of special victims."

"Well, I'm glad he thought it through," Molly replied. "You don't need to be exposed to all of that horror. Babies being attacked by men on the streets and he's running head first at it like it's the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow."

Jack took a sip of his wine, "Special Victims takes a special man, Molly. I firmly believe Joey, as my cousin and a detective, is that kind of man, but I have to ask you, what is it like working for Captain Benson, she's been with SVU since God was a boy. Commissioner Reagan is getting ready to force her retirement if she keeps interfering with the field work."

"He should talk," Joey rolled his eyes. "My mom is trying to get him to retire but he won't. I'm hoping when my sister's babies come."

"That is such a blessing," Molly beamed. "Is she going to call a boy Peter after your Grandfather?"

"If she did that our mutual grandfather would flip his lid," Jack replied. "There was no love lost between Peter and grandpa. He only accepted it because of Aunt Eddie."

"Jack, I'm surprised with your mother's background she is not taking care of your grandfather, that when he got sick that they didn't shift things around," Rita observed.

"My father and grandfather have a very similar temper," Jack explained. "Believe me Uncle Jamie is the right person to be there, my mom is going to help out now that he's getting worse. We pull together."

"Well, I'll be happy to help out," Molly piped up. "I love your grandpa, oh, the stories…" Molly smiled and clapped her hands.

Joey looked at the beauty next to him. It had been a long time since her felt this way. He had really cared for Debbie but she hadn't made his heart skip a beat like Molly did.

The talk turned away from family back to Jack and Rita's wedding. During the meal, Jack asked Joey to be a groomsman and he agreed. "I'm going to ask Steven too, to make him feel a part of the family."

"If he still is, if Lila had a say in this…" Joey laughed remembering the look Lila was shooting at her husband. "You know that look my dad gets right before he explodes?"

"Yeah…the one that tells the entire room to duck and cover?" Jack laughed.

"That's the one, Lila inherited it, in spades. She is not her mother's daughter. After that little even on Wednesday…I'm surprised Steven isn't singing soprano."

"The dinner went that well?" Rita asked remembering Jack having to cancel a date because of the dinner with Steven's parents.

"It was a disaster," Joey laughed. "But you got to hand it to grandpa, for a man the doctors are saying might be on his way out he's a tough old Irish mutt that goes without a doubt."

"Dad!" Jamie said firmly. "You have to keep the cannula in your nose! It doesn't do any good blowing oxygen on my floor."

"Jamie, calm down," Eddie soothed. "It's hard to wear those things, you know that."

"It's hard to wear it and I don't need it!" Frank snapped. "I got all upset at those idiotic people, it was my own fault. I'm not sicker than I was Wednesday!"

"Dad," Erin interjected gently. "Yes, you are. We all heard the doctor, and it upsets all of us, but you have to use the oxygen when you are resting or sleeping so it's easier to breathe when you are up and about. Now, if the nasal one is bothering you…"

"It's not bothering me! You are all bothering me!" Frank snapped slapping at Jamie's hands as he tried to put the oxygen back on. They three younger Reagans decided to let Frank be for the moment, he's settled down then one of them would try again.

"All right, fine choke to death all night long, I'm not getting up to help you!" Jamie yelled as they left the room.

Eddie sighed. Erin moved to go after Jamie, "Let him go," Eddie advised. "He'll calm down. He's still steamed over the dinner, he hasn't spoken to Steven since they left. When Jamie called to tell Lila about Dad, Steven answered, Jamie hung up and called back until Lila picked up the phone."

"That's not like Jamie at all," Erin commented. 'Maybe he needs to see his neurologist."

"No," Eddie replied. "He's fine that way, he has always had that Irish ice in his veins. I think you and Danny just never saw it, he was always the baby, but when it came to protecting me, protecting our kids, Jamison Reagan was sometimes the hardest man you could ever meet."

Eddie fixed tea for herself and Eddie, "The fact is, he's scared. He knows that if we lose Frank he's going to have to compete with Danny over being head of this family. Frank is grooming him to be the Reagan Patriarch but Danny, he's always seen himself as the leader."

"I don't want to debate any of this, I want to live in the little girl fantasy that my father will live forever."

Eddie sighed, "It's nice, but when you do that you fall pretty hard. I'm fortunate in some ways, when it hurts too much I can just pretend, I didn't see my father that much, but for you, Jamie, Danny…me too it's going to be a significant loss."

Erin reached across the table and rubbed Eddie's hand, "This looks a lot better."

"Yeah, it's getting there. When you have cancer as badly as I did and you get the surgery I had, you don't get a full recovery, you know? You live with it, my arm will never be normal, they don't tell you that stuff a lot."

Erin nodded, "I never told anyone this, but I had a scare a few years back. Thank God it was nothing but I thought of you the entire time. Lesser women would have died, but you…I know we had our differences, most of that was my fault, but I admire you, Eddie. And there is no one I'd rather have looking after Dad on a daily basis, even with Linda's training, you have the fire…"

Eddie smiled, "That means a lot to me Erin. You want some of the best ice cream in the world?" Eddie got up and went into the freezer. "I hide this from Jamie, the cholesterol is ridiculous but he never looks behind the beef patties so…" Eddie produced a carton of Belgian chocolate ice cream.

The ladies indulged while Jamie laid on the bed upstairs. He'd been tied up pretty tight since Wednesday dinner. Upsetting Lila was enough for him, but to learn from Joey that Eddie had been reduced to tears while Steven said nothing was too much for him. What kind of man did he entrust his Kitten to? He would never let his Eddie hang out to dry like that. It hurt his father's heart…

Laughter from downstairs made him smile, Eddie and Erin getting along…that was music to his ears.

Eddie came up an hour later, "Hey, you all right?" she asked sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, just a little tired," Jamie sighed. "Did you get Dad to…?"

"He put the cannula in himself and was sound asleep when I checked him," Eddie informed Jamie. "You need to apologize to him for taking your fear and your anger at yourself out on him." Eddie stood up and began her nightly routine.

"You know me so well," Jamie sighed. "I'm sorry but that would be the day when I would leave you hanging like Steven left Lila. I'm really questioning his love for her and his ability to be a good husband and father."

Eddie sighed, "Jamie, you are the perfect husband and father, not everyone had a good role model like you did, honey. Lila loves him, you think my father was thrilled when I married a cop. He wasn't…"

"No, but I was good to you. When anyone stepped out of line with you, I was there for you Eddie. I would die for you, I don't know if Steven would for Lila and it bothers me."

Eddie laid down and snuggled up to Jamie's side, "Talk to her, babe. She's coming tomorrow to see your dad, just talk to her and tell her what is hurting your heart."

Jamie sighed. Eddie was right, he looked down at her and stroked her cheek. "We have Dr. McLean, remember?"

"After Dr. McLean," Eddie smiled. "We'll have reason to come home happy, I'm sure of it. I love you so much, Jamie."

Jamie tried to sleep, but it was elusive. He has far too many worries to relax, but with his wife in his arms he knew when he was ready to share the burden, he wouldn't have to do it alone.

 **A/N: Papa Jamie is still stewing over his baby getting hurt. Does anyone else think that when Jamie's temper flares it's worse than the others? Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I tried to use some of the newer characters we'll get to know through this series. Pillow Talk will be updating later tonight.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Eddie," Dr. McLean's nurse called her back for her annual exam. Jamie was by her side as he had been for nearly every one.

They sat down in the doctor's inner office holding hands just as usual. Nine times out of ten, they got great results, no signs of recurrence. A few times, there had been high blood tests and suspicious shadows but they got through it together.

The doctor came in five minutes later. "Good to see you, Eddie and first let me say that I am so sorry about your father."

Eddie smiled, "Thank you. He was suffering, and he's in a better place now."

Dr. McLean smiled, "Yes, he is but I'm sure he was happy to have his family in the end. Now, tell me about how you've been feeling."

"I'm fine," Eddie replied as usual.

The doctor frowned a little, Jamie sat up straighter, his detective eye still sharp. "Any fatigue? Back pain? Knee pain?"

"Well, yes, but I'm fifty eight," Eddie replied. "Fifty eight in a two story house with a sick father-in-law, pregnant daughter, a husband that often needs shoe tying, who wouldn't…"

Jamie squeezed her hand, the doctor was driving at something. "Is it back?"

Dr. McLean shook his head, "No, no, it's not the cancer, the CEA-125 and the scan are clean."

"So what's with all the questions, Doctor? I'm a cop thirty four years, I think I know when someone is beating around a bush," Jamie pressed holding Eddie tighter.

Dr. McLean began writing, "This is a referral to a nephrologist, Dr. Kamal Gupta, he is highly recommended and I have worked with him a number of times. Eddie, your creatinine levels have come back elevated for the third time. Each time I've marked this and each time they are slightly more elevated. When I first noticed the elevation, it was slight, a 1.5, then a 2.2, not it's a 3.1. The prolonged use of anti-cancer drugs and the chemotherapy can over time lead to kidney disease. I'd like you to see Dr. Gupta and rule that out. If you are experiencing those symptoms, I would make the appointment sooner rather than later."

Eddie looked at her doctor, her blue eyes flashing, "You're telling me all the time I worked on staying healthy, I was making myself sick?"

"Not necessarily," Dr. McLean replied. "There are other factors that can cause this but let's get it checked out. I'm going to change your tamoxifen this time as well to a different drug. The side effects are a little rougher but it's easier on the kidneys. It's a newer pill but I've had a lot of good luck with it."

Jamie had the script filled before the left the medical arts pavilion. As they walked to the car, Eddie read the side effects list. "I hope you're ready to be married to Shamu again."

"Eddie," Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Well it says right on the top of the list, weight gain, swelling of the face, neck, arms, legs and feet, irritability, increased thirst…I might as well let the damn cancer get me!"

Jamie stopped dead in his tracks pulling Eddie's hand so she faced him. His blue eyes thinned at Eddie upset when she talked like that.

"Stop Eddie I don't ever want you to say that again. If the drugs will help you stay alive but cause weight gain that's better than the alternative. "

Eddie shook her head in disagreement knowing how hard it's going to be again as she gained weight. She was of small stature, the extra pounds interfered with her stamina, her dexterity, her overall quality of life.

"This is ridiculous Jamie! All the side effects; the medication is just causing more problems."

Jamie reached for her hand pulling her closer to him letting his hands rest on her waist while meeting her eyes. "No matter what happens I'd rather have you here with me as long as we can. We don't known for sure what it is yet but if it is kidney problems we'll take it on together. I love you Eddie, and I want you here as long as possible."

Eddie wiped her eyes, "Jamie…I…"

"I want you with me, Eddie. If you're fat or thin, swelling…on more medications than we can count, I don't care," Jamie declared. "You once told me that you loved me and as long as I understood you when you said it and in some way could say it back that was all the mattered. Why is it any less true for you?"

Eddie didn't have an answer for that, all she knew was she was tired of suffering from medications designed to prevent her from suffering. They got into the car and headed for home, Eddie keeping silent, angry that Jamie was forcing this issue.

Frank was resting in the living room when the couple arrived, "Take your pill now," Jamie instructed pouring her a glass of milk. "It says it'll upset your stomach if you don't take it with milk."

"Oh no," Frank's face fell as he took in Eddie's teary eyes and Jamie's firm tone. "No, not again…" The old man covered his face.

"No, Dad, it's not like that," Jamie explained hurriedly. "Dr. McLean changed Eddie's meds that's all and she's kind of upset about some of the effects. Where's that referral card, I'm going to make that appointment."

"Jamie, can we just slow this down," Eddie begged. "Please."

"No, Eddie, we cannot slow this down. This is your health, I'm not waiting to make this call. It can take months to get into a good specialist!" Jamie took the card and made the call.

No one heard Lila enter through the kitchen door. She heard her father's clipped tone and her mother biting back in equal measure. Her parents rarely fought so it was rough for her to hear them doing it.

Jamie was pacing back and forth on hold with the doctor's scheduler. Eddie just sat on the sofa, tears running down her face. Jamie wasn't even listening to her. Frank got up and put his arms around his "daughter". "Hush, now…Tell me what happened."

Eddie explained about the medication, the list of horrendous side effects, and about her kidneys. "Jamie's making such a big deal, he hasn't listed to a word I said."

Frank sighed, "Jamie's scared, and he just loves you so much."

Eddie sighed, "He might love me, but he used to respect me."

Lila was listening to all of this, her hand on her belly as it was just beginning to round. She'd come to speak to her father and see if her Mom wanted to shop for maternity clothes with her.

She listened as her father began speaking into the receiver, "Hello, yes, this is Police Commissioner Reagan, I'm calling to make the first available appointment for my wife, Edit, Dr. McLean referred us to Dr. Gupta."

Jamie listened, "That's really not acceptable, she's had steadily rising number for a year, she needs the first available…"

"Two weeks is fine, thank you." Jamie wrote the information down and hug up. "Two weeks from today," Jamie told Eddie. "I'll fix it with Meyers so I'm available to go with you."

"You can go, I'm not going!" Eddie stood up. "You never even listened to me about this Jamie. It's my body, those levels aren't that high!"

Neither one was aware of Lila.

Lila stood shocked in the kitchen imaging the worst hearing only half the conversation. Her shock slowly turned to worry thinking her mom was placed on medication because to her cancer coming back. Lila didn't remember Eddie's cancer well, just that it had left her father and brother in an endless cycle of fear that it would one day return and snatch Eddie from them. Quickly, Lila choked back a sob before anyone heard and placed a hand on the counter to steady herself, trying to calm down before approaching her parents.

It took several deep breaths for Lila to finally stop sobbing enough to enter the living room with a forced smile on her face. Jamie could see the worry in his daughter's eyes, the redness there and the streaks on her face. As a seasoned cop and father, he knew when someone especially someone in his family, was hiding their feelings.

"What's wrong, Kitten?" Jamie was immediately concerned something happened between her and Steven or with her pregnancy.

Lila took a deep breath as she crossed the room taking a seat on the couch beside her mom, reaching for the older woman's hand. Eddie had always been so strong after all they've been through. "Is mom sick again? I came in and heard you two talking about medication and doctors."

"Oh Lila, it isn't like that," Eddie gasped upset her daughter heard them arguing. She quickly gave Lila's hand a gentle squeeze to reassure her daughter before explaining what the doctor said. "But we're not sure what is causing those numbers to go up, it might not be anything really serious. We made an appointment for two weeks. I'm sorry you had to hear us fighting, I just don't want to go on this new medication is going to make me fat and cause other problems worse than the illness itself."

Lila looked between her mother and father as Jamie sat behind Lila on the couch offering a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Mom, if the medication is going to help you even if it makes you gain a little weight, then who cares. If it's better for you then none of us care about weight, as long as you're alive. I want you to see your grandkids when they're born."

Instinctively Lila ran a hand over her belly, thinking about her babies meeting their grandparents. She knew they were both excited to become grandparents and Frank to become a great-grandfather again.

Eddie sighed, looking down at their joined hands. "The weight gain is ugly, but it also causes my back and legs to hurt and my knees to ache. Your father still needs help a lot of days, even if it is just simple things, and you're pregnant…Having that kind of joint pain and swelling, I'd be too much of a burden. I don't see why I can't stay on the pill I was already on, if it is damaging my kidneys, my body is just worn then. I won't be a burden to my children. My father wasn't, Grandpa isn't, Grandpa Henry wasn't, I won't be."

Lila pulled her hand out of her mother's very gentle grasp shocked at the words Eddie just spoke. "Mom, don't ever say that! You're not a burden, we love you very much. We'll all do what we can to help, I won't be pregnant forever you know! I don't want you thinking that, I need you Mom." Lila brought her hand to brush Eddie's cheek a tear sparkling in her eye as the two embraced.

Jamie bit back some emotion seeing Lila so open in her expression of love for her Mom. Jamie rubbed Lila's back. "I'm so sorry you had to find out like this, Kitten. We weren't going to tell anyone until Mom saw the specialist."

"Well, now that I know you need to tell Joey or he'll be angry and hurt," Lila replied. "You can tell him in your own time. We want to know all this stuff, Dad. Mom, I'm here, why don't you go up and rest and I'll help Dad get something in the slow cooker. When you're feeling better, we can plan a shopping trip. I'm wearing Steven's pants with the cuffs rolled up."

Eddie laughed, "I'm feeling fine, Lila. I don't need to rest, but having dinner together would be really nice. Is Steven working?"

Jamie's face darkened at Steven's name. "In fact, now might be a good time for you and Dad to have a little chat." Eddie stood up, "Frank, how about you and me start on dinner and let these two talk."

Lila looked at Jamie, "Dad, I know you're upset about what happened…"

"I'm not upset about what happened," Jamie corrected. "I'm upset that Steven didn't defend you, baby. He sat there, let his parents say terrible things about you and the babies and didn't say a word! I have a serious problem with that. What kind of man did I marry you off to?"

"Daddy," Lila sighed. "Steven was angry and caught off guard. He texted his father to have lunch and he laid things down. He told him that if he or his mother used me or the twins to get back at you or grandpa again or even spoke ill of us again, he would be dead to them. I know it hurt him to say so, but he meant it. Steven was the right choice for me, and you were right to support it."

Jamie nodded, "All right, if you say he did the right thing and the cat just had his tongue…Okay. If he's off, invite him to dinner, this family has bigger problems than worrying about the Tenneys. If you are happy and safe, that's what counts."

Lila rubbed Jamie's leg, "Are you all right with this thing with Mom?"

Jamie sighed, "I'm scared to death. We always knew this could happen but I never actually thought that it would. I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure Mom is okay, including retire. If I have to nurse her through every day…do you feel that for Steven?"

Lila's eyes misted, "Yes, no matter what life brings us I want to be by his side and he wants to be by mine. I'm fine, I'm grown up and going to be a mom myself." Lila stood up and caressed Jamie's cheek. "Stop worrying."

Jamie got up and went to check on Frank and Eddie while Lila placed a call to Steven. He was working that night but sent his love. "I'm working the next two nights, if you want to stay with your folks. If that will make you feel better.

Lila sniffled, "I just hate hearing her talk about herself like that. My mother broke her back fighting this disease and she succeeded, it's not fair the medicine that was making her well gave her something else. I think I will stay, she's on new pills and with my grandpa…"

"Be careful, Lila," Steven warned gently. "You have very precious cargo…"

Lila sighed and put her hand on her belly, she'd do anything for her twins. "I love you guys," she told them. "If Mommy ever got sick like Nana…I'd fight for you too." Lila smiled, she finally understood her mother's love…and as long as that existed, she didn't have to worry, Eddie might threaten to give up, but she never would leave her family without a fight.

 **A/N: Cancer is a difficult animal, and it never quite let's you go. Thank you to the reviewers and to all who have been reading.**

 **To my guest reviewer – I usually reply to reviews through PM but I can't so I will try my best to reply this way…In a future story, Frank and Erin will have a conversation explaining his decision in grooming Jamie for taking things over. Frank sees Mary and himself in Jamie, Jamie has an exceptional mind, he has an intellect that far surpasses any of the previous Reagan patriarchs and is a slightly more level headed when the chips are down. I'll let that scene in story six explain the rest I hope you are still reading by them.**

 **Hope everyone has a great Monday. See you on Tuesday!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"Let's stop and get a lemonade," Eddie suggested as she and Lila passed an Auntie Anne's pretzel shop.

Lila agreed, "Sit down, I'll get it." Lila put the bags on a chair and went to the get in line. Eddie rubbed her sore knees and thought about this day. It was a very rewarding experience. Later they were meeting Erin and Linda for dinner since Steven was working nights.

Today Lila had purchased maternity shorts and capri pants, maternity blouses and what Eddie termed maternity shoes, one size up and in a wide with. "If you carry like I did, your feet will swell and with twins doubly so," Eddie warned.

Lila returned with two lemonades and one pretzel for them to share. "What else is on your list?" Eddie asked. In truth she was getting very tired but didn't want to speak up about it. "Undergarments I'm sure are becoming necessary. I liked to wear undergarments that were all one continuous piece on the job, they were comfortable."

Lila nodded and sat back, "Mom, I uh…Steven's parents were right about one thing that night. We can't live on only what Steven makes. We need two incomes if we are really going to make it work…"

"Lila, I have talked all this over with your dad and we both feel you should not go back to school or look for work until the babies are at least a year old. That said, I understand about the money. Dad and I plan to give you your share of Grandad's estate. He left everything to me and originally you and Joey would inherit that upon my death, but you need it now so we will give you your share now and Joey his when he marries and is ready to start a family of his own," Eddie replied.

"Mom…"

"Let me finish," Eddie continued. "Also, you will be needing a bigger house. We know Bay Ridge is your preference so Dad and I will provide a down payment for a house near us and Grandpa will supplement the payments for two years unless he's gone then your inheritance will help cover the payments."

"Mom, Steven will not accept this much financial help!" Lila groaned.

"It's not help," Eddie replied. "This money will be yours one day, but I don't want you and your family to live in shoebox until I'm dead. You need this money now, enjoy it now."

Eddie was firm and punctuated her decree with a bite of pretzel.

"I'll talk to him," Lila replied. "We are still arguing over finding out the sex. We are supposed to say yes or no at this week's appointment, so when they do the 20 week scans they don't mess us, but I suppose if we can't decide now we can wait. I know you waited with me, but did you find out for Joe?"

"No, Dad wanted to wait," Eddie replied. "He remembered Aunt Erin found out with Nikki but they initially told her that Nikki was a boy. She has a blue nursery, blue everything. Your uncles and Dad were working on it nonstop to get it the right color," Eddie laughed finishing her drink. "There are bathrooms there, why don't you go so we don't have to stop on the way to the lingerie store."

Lila agreed, she had to pee constantly, she felt since the twins were conceived. "Are you good for a few more stores, Mom?" Lila asked.

"I am fine, go pee so you don't wet your pants like I used to do," Eddie instructed and began to clean up the table. When Lila was out of sight, she popped three Advil to ease the ache in her back and legs, she didn't want to miss a minute of this.

Arm in arm, mother and daughter shopped for two more hours until they had purchased nearly every maternity item Lila would need and some she wanted. Jamie would have a second stroke when the credit card bill arrived but Eddie new how to handle that.

Eddie drove them back to Bay Ridge in time for Lila to rest and Eddie to supervise Frank's nebulizer treatment. "You are hurting badly," Frank stated as he watched Eddie's movement. "When does that bottle say those things go away?"

"It doesn't, I suppose I'll get used to it, Dad," Eddie replied. "Jamie is looking into other medications when he has spare time and we'll bring the list to Dr. McLean if this one is too hard to deal with but it is one of the only ones so far that doesn't have an impact on kidneys."

"Well, just remember I might have to do this mist and all but I can get around all right most days, you don't have to wait on me. In fact, you can put your feet up and relax and let me get some drinks and all now and again."

"Thanks, Dad, it's sweet but you are in much worse condition, this really isn't so bad and it's temporary too. Now, what do you want for supper tonight, Jamie has a dinner meeting and Lila and I are meeting Erin and Linda in Chinatown?"

When Eddie and Lila arrived at the restaurant they agreed on Erin and Linda were already waiting outside.

"Hey we're you waiting long?" Eddie asked with a frown.

"No, Linda just got here too," Erin answered for both of them, following Eddie inside.

The waiter immediately showed them to a table passing out menus before giving the girls time to look it over. Once they all decided and orders were taken Linda folded her hands leaning in excitedly. "So Lila, are you getting excited yet?"

"Yeah, I am," Lila replied. "Now that I'm in my second trimester and the nausea is finally going away, I am a little more relaxed. Mom and I went shopping for maternity clothes today."

"We got her some really cute things," Eddie replied. "It was nice to get out."

Lila smiled, "In a few weeks Steven and I going to start a registry and house hunting."

"Oh, where are you going to look?" Erin asked.

"Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton, near Mom and Dad and near Steven's engine company," Lila replied. "It'll cost but we worked it all out."

"Yeah, I heard there were some fireworks at that dinner. You don't listen to those people," Erin told her godchild.

The meals came and the ladies started to eat, "Mom, watch the soy sauce!" Lila scolded. "Dad said…"

"Dad said to watch the sweet and sour!" Eddie spoke up and nudged Lila under the table.

"You having blood sugar problems, Eddie?" Linda asked.

"Oh no," Eddie replied. "But it gives me indigestion, Jamie doesn't like it because I get up and down so much."

Erin nodded, "Jamie always hated it when his sleep was interrupted. When I had Nikki, she had the worst colic, worse that Jamie and he had it bad…I stayed at the house so Mom could help me, her screaming was getting to our neighbors. One night, Jamie is home from school, he comes stumbling down the stairs, picks Nikki up out of Mom's arms, meticulously puts her in her baby seat and set her on the dryer, then without a word he stumbles back upstairs and goes back to sleep."

"Did Joey or I have colic, Mom?" Lila didn't like the sound of colic, perhaps times two.

"Joey," Eddie replied. "He had it very badly, but your father was usually able to soothe him. Joey was the right length and your Dad the right height, he got the gas bubble. I felt like such a failure that I couldn't comfort my baby boy. I had no mother to show me though, I'll be here to help you."

"I was spared the colic," Linda piped up. "But my Jack, when he was teething, he had the worse diarrhea. He would explode out of his diapers, I remember one night just sticking him the sink and letting things go as they may."

The older women laughed and continued to reminisce about their children's antics, Lila started to get worried. If these three incredible ladies that loved her and nurtured her had such struggles, how could she do this?

Lila was usually quiet on the way home. "Are you all right, Angel?" Eddie asked.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little tired. Can you drop me at my house?"

"Of course," Eddie replied smiling. "Sometimes Chinese doesn't sit too well when you're pregnant, but you wanted it so…"

Lila nodded, "Thanks Mom."

Eddie dropped Lila off at the house then turned for home. Steven was just settling into being home when Lila let herself in. Taking one look at her husband, Lila burst into tears.

"Lil?" Steven put his sandwich down and rushed to take his wife in his arms. "Lila, what's wrong?"

Lila was speaking but the sobs were muffling her words. All Steven made out was parents were right and horrible mother. "Oh baby, no. No baby…" Steven rocked her tight and kissed her head. "You are going to be a fabulous mother, you have a fabulous mom and you will be a best mom."

"They are all so good and there was so much wrong," Lila sobbed. "We'll have two of them…and you're gone so much…"

"Hey," Steven cupped Lila's cheek. "When I am home I'm home a lot too. We will do this together, you and me…we are going to be fine."

"I love you," Lila whispered. "I really do. You almost make me believe it."

"Lila, we never thought we'd put the wedding together baby, with your father sick but we did it. Your family pitched in and we made it work. I know your mom will be here every spare minute she can or you'll be there to get help at first. We aren't alone in this, baby. How about I make my sandwich and you tell me about the stuff you got today? Sound good?"

Lila nodded, "What about I show you some of the stuff I got today?" she asked with a gleam in her eye thinking of the cute lingerie Eddie helped her pick out.

Steven got her meaning and smiled, Lila's libido returned in spades since she became fourteen weeks and he had no complaints. Steven dipped his head and kissed her, "Sounds like the best idea of the day."

 **A/N: Some female family bonding for all of you. I am trying to incorporate other characters but Jamie and Eddie are still my favorites. As the story goes on, Lila and Steven will of course take center stage. For those of you wondering about Steven's parents, have no fear the Tenneys will resurface and Jamie will handle the issue Reagan style.**

 **Special thanks to Lawslave, Werks, and Yanks20, each of these ladies have helped me in one way or another with this story when writer's block, health problems, or the fact that I never had kids so can't relate to pregnancy has gotten in the way.**

 **Also thanks to my reviewers, I had a rough health weekend so I failed to reply to your reviews for Friday and Sunday, but I promise I will tonight if I haven't done so already. Next update on Thursday, then a three day Pillow Talk story.**

 **This Monday, 5/2, I will begin posting a new story that will update on Monday and Thursday. Pillow Talk will have Friday updates, and weekend updates if it is a multiple chapter episode. This story will continue to update every other day.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Eddie hummed to herself as she prepared her a cup of tea on a Saturday morning in early May. That coming Wednesday was her appointment with Dr. Gupta, she was nervous and still felt it was unnecessary, but it would set her Jamie's mind at ease.

Eddie decided to take the cup to sit in the sunroom. It was such a lovely day outside and she hadn't been getting out much since the side effects of the new pills had been causing her legs and back to ache. With half a muffin and her tea, Eddie set out to enjoy the quiet morning while Frank and Jamie were still sleeping. Joey was coming over a little later to help Jamie with some yard work. Eddie sometimes liked the time to be solitary and with her own thoughts.

Eddie walked gently towards the sunroom, but suddenly gasped as she felt a sharp pain shoot down her back and into her legs. Eddie felt her knee shake and the floor rushed up at her as her legs faltered. Eddie collapsed onto a heap on the floor putting her hands out to break her fall sending her tea and muffin flying and shattering the mug. The hot liquid splashed back on her hand, stinging the delicate skin. Eddie hissed in pain. Startled, she tried getting up but her legs wouldn't cooperate, a throbbing pain radiated down her side, causing her to curl around herself until she could catch her breath.

"Jamie!" she cried. She hated to startle him and wake him but she had no choice if she wanted to get off the floor. She tried with every ounce of strength she had, but that was minimal these days. "Jamie, I need help!"

Jamie heard Eddie calling for him. At first he thought it was a dream, that she was having a nightmare, but he found her side of the bed empty. It only took Jamie a moment to pull on his brace and hurry downstairs towards the sound of his wife's cries.

When Jamie appeared in the living room, he rushed to Eddie side, his eyebrows turned down in worry. Jamie balanced without his cane, leaning it against the couch, and bent down, his strong arms lifted Eddie taking care to be gentle as he set her in a Frank's chair.

"Eddie are you okay? What happened?" Jamie quickly examined her for injuries.

Eddie leaned back against the back of the chair, "My legs got weak, gave out on me. I'm okay."

"Eddie, you have a burn on your hand. Can you stand?"

Eddie tried in vain to stand, her side hurt and she fell against Jamie, her legs still like jelly. "Okay, let's go. We're going to the hospital. I'm calling Erin for Dad and I'm getting you checked."

Eddie held onto Jamie, he left his cane in favor of keeping both arms wrapped around Eddie. Jamie didn't care he was still in his pajamas, his strong, sturdy wife that cared for him through his entire recovery could barely stand. He had to find out why and he had to find out now.

Neither Eddie nor Jamie planned for Joey to arrive this early, but he wanted to talk to his father about a case that was giving him fits. When he saw his mother being half dragged and half carried to the car, he parked and began to run. "Dad, what's happened? Mom? Mom, are you okay?"

"Mom's fallen, Joe," Jamie replied. "She spilled some hot water on her hand, it needs checking out."

"I'm fine," Eddie insisted. "I just feel a little weak is all."

"Mom, feeling weak is not okay," Joey replied checking his mother for fever.

"Lately, it is," Eddie replied. "Jamie, stop this fussing now!"

"We're getting you looked at," Jamie insisted. "Joe, help Mom into the car then sit with grandpa until I can call Aunt Erin to come."

"Jamie, this is ridiculous, real sick people need the hospital, I just need to eat a little so the medication…"

"Dad," Joe broke in. "Just take a breath and listen to Mom. Are you on some kind of new pill?" Joey asked brushing some of his mother's tousy hair from her face as he took her weight from Jamie and held her up with his own arms.

"Yes, Dr. McLean changed it and there's new side effects," Eddie replied. "I'm fine, really. I was walking with my tea and half a muffin, then I felt a pain in my back, my legs went out, I literally fell and couldn't get up. Then Dad…"

Joey nodded, "Okay, let's do this. I'm going to take Mom back inside and get her resting with some food. Dad, take a deep breath, call her doctor's service and ask if this is normal. Meanwhile, I'll call Molly and have her check your hand. If you don't feel better after or start feeling worse, we'll go. Come on, everyone settle down."

Eddie heart swelled with pride even as her face flushed with embarrassment. Their son had truly grown up over the last eighteen months, his clear thinking had soothed Jamie's panic, Eddie could feel the rigidity go out of his body and hear his breathing relax. Locked in Joey's arms, Eddie allowed herself to be reinstalled on the big recliner. Joey fixed two pillows for her back and put a blanket over her legs. "Rest, Mom, I'm going to call Molly and fix you a plate."

Jamie was a few steps behind, moving slower without his cane. "I'll clean this us…" He kept his eyes on the ground. He knew he panicked and upset Eddie further, but the sight of her on the floor unable to stand under her own power and the significant change he felt in her weight already shook him.

"Jamie, sit down a minute and catch your breath," Eddie suggested. "You need to relax, you do."

Jamie sat on the sofa and took a few deep breaths. Seeing Eddie on the floor like that had shook him to the core. Joey returned from the kitchen with the other half of the muffin and some jam. "Here you go, Mom. Eat this and drink this milk. I read the name of the medication to Molly and she says you must eat while you are taking this medication. She also wants you to soak your hand in this cool water for fifteen minutes."

Eddie took the glass of milk and the muffin only nibbling at it while soaking her hand as Joey directed. "Molly will be here in a little bit to check our hand, you eat up now okay?"

While Eddie was eating, and Jamie watching every bite she took, Frank appeared. "What no coffee this morning?"

"I'll get it Dad," Jamie said getting up.

"I'm joking. I'm old, not blind. I started coffee, would you like more tea, Eddie? I can see that you had a little accident." Frank offered a calming smile. "Jamie, why don't you help by cleaning up the mess?"

Frank disappeared then reappeared ten minutes later with two mugs of tea, "My special blend," he told Eddie and handed her the mug. "This will help with that ache in your bones, trust me."

Eddie had to laugh at Frank's inflection but blushed in embarrassment at all the fuss. She was the mother, it was her job to take care of her family, not sit in a recliner and watch. It brought back too many bad memories.

Eddie sipped the tea and it did taste nice. Molly arrived about a half hour after Joey called, "Let me take look at this hand…" She took Eddie's left hand and examined it. "Can you open and close without the skin stinging?"

"It pulls a little, but it's fine. The tea was cooling," Eddie said as Molly produced a tube of salve and began to rub it onto the skin. "I think you will be fine. Jamie, I want you to make sure you massage her hand and lower arm a lot. Trauma to the skin can cause episodes of lymphedema and possibly cellulitis, so increase all the lymphedema treatments that you do."

"Thank you for coming Molly," Jamie said smiling rubbing Eddie's shoulder. "This new medication has just been awful for her."

"Tamoxifen and drugs like it are easier day to day, but over the long term they can cause a lot of organ damage. Usually the doctor will put a patient on these newer drugs if they see signs of that in routine testing, but a lot of times the damage isn't significant and the disruption to daily life from these newer pills are too much to handle." Molly smiled.

"Whoa, Molly are you saying they changed Mom's pills because the other ones made her sick?" Joey asked. "Mom?"

"The other ones might have made her sick, but other times it's precaution. It takes a while to get used to these meds. Try to rest more and do some range of motion exercise, those will help with the joint pain. Increase your intake of iron rich foods that will help with the weakness in your arms and legs."

Eddie smiled, "Thank you Molly, if they told us that at the pharmacy…"

Molly scoffed, "They won't do that, the pharmacy wants you to come back for painkillers. When you feel a little more strength we can go over the exercises, they might help you too, Jamie. I see you are still pulling a little bit on that left arm, a little spasticity left over from the stroke, we can fix…"

Molly settled herself in with Eddie, taking care of her burn. Jamie insisted on helping Eddie get ready for the day, not trusting anyone else with it. Joey sat down with Frank and Molly and ate a late breakfast. "Molly, I have to know, is my mother sick? Is there something terribly wrong?"

Molly sighed, "The medication change is curious, and perhaps they were referred to someone for another opinion and are waiting to speak to ye since ye get yerself so upset." When Molly spoke softly, her brogue intensified.

Frank bit his tongue. It was up to Jamie and Eddie to speak to Joey about the specialist, though he disagreed. Molly took Frank's silence as a negative response to Joey's question

"Ye see, now ye relax until she gets used to the medications and starts to feel better."

Joey sighed, "I guess we just wait until…"

Molly offered Joey a strong hug, "It's going to be okay. I will help ye and them all I can, all right? Now, Grandpa Frank, I see you are due for a treatment and a walk, let's all do that the three of us."

Molly went to get the machine from the living room, and Frank smiled at Joey. "You let that girl get away…to the moon…" He mocked a punch with his fist.

"I don't plan to let her go, Grandpa. Perhaps you can help me on this case too…"

"Be glad to, Joe," Frank replied. "But hold that thought, I have mist to suck…"

Joey laughed, what started out as a nerve wracking morning turned into a pretty nice day. A half hour later, Joey was walking between his admired grandpa and his newest love sharing details of a difficult case, receiving support from all sides. If this is how his father felt in his mother's presence, perhaps it wasn't so important Molly was a nurse and not a cop, for she listened and advised as well as Eddie would have. Joey stopped and slid his arm around Molly's shoulders, he would be content to spend many more Saturday mornings just like this.

 **A/N: Thank to my readers and reviewers for your loyalty. Thanks to Lawslave, Werks, and Yanks20, each have helped me with this story in their own special ways.**

 **Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday Pillow Talk will update – this week's episode is Absolute Power.**

 **On Monday, my newest story, That's What Love is For will be posted. It will update on Monday and Thursday.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Indian food?" Joey asked. "I remember when we were kids and had that friend from down the block, Ravi…His Mom made great samosas."

"Your sister is craving it and surprisingly enough, Grandpa developed a taste for masala chicken," Jamie replied. "Thanks for coming early tonight Joe. After dinner, you might not feel like talking shop."

Joey at down and sighed, "I hit a wall on my investigation. I have an animal raping preteen girls and not a clue."

"No witnesses? None of the girls can ID the perp?" Jamie asked setting the table as they talked.

"The latest victim, but Dad...she is not all there," Joey replied. "She's twelve but she acts like a little kid. I can't get her to look me in the eyes, she screeches and bangs her head onto the table when I try to question her. I can't do a thing with her. I know she saw his face, I know she knows who did this to her but my partner won't hear me, he wants to dismiss it and Benson, and she wants me to toss it. We have to get this guy, Dad. We have to."

Jamie could see Joey was identifying too much with this case, but more so, because he could not manage to connect with his young witness. "I'll handle your Captain," Jamie replied. "It sounds like the girl is socially delayed, autistic or some other type of intellectual disability. Are her parents on board?"

"She only has a mother, but she wants us to get this jerk as much as I want to get him, yeah," Joey replied.

"Then call the mother, question the girl at home, in a place she feels safe. You can get the mother's permission to tape the interview and hide the recorder under the table so it doesn't frighten her. Find out what she likes, a candy, a song…something to use as a reward, then keep you words and your questions simple. It sounds like she's got about a four year old mentality, so ignore the physical age and focus on the mental age. If you want me to sit in on it and give you a hand…"

Joey thought about it, "Jamie Reagan rides again," Joey laughed. "I'll think on it Dad, thanks. I'll call the mom tomorrow."

Jamie smiled, he knew his boy would give every case his all, but he seemed to have inherited his focus when it regarded kids. Jamie had worked in sex crimes off and on during his career as a detective and often worked with children. He hoped, for Joey's sake, his boy would not internalize these cases, he would keep an eye on him.

"Hello," Lila called as she entered the house. She was sixteen weeks pregnant and beginning to look it more and more every day.

"Hello, Kitten," Jamie smiled giving her a warm hug and kiss. "We're almost ready to eat, Grandpa is putting the food into bowls for us. Can you help Joey pour drinks while I got and get your Mom?"

Lila nodded and shared a looked with Joey, "Mom's sleeping again?"

"Well, I'm not sure if she was sleeping or not. She was lying down, Dad said it was her back bothering her again."

Lila shrugged her shoulder, she didn't know if her parents had told Joey about her visit to Dr. McLean or needing to see the specialist. Today was the two weeks, was the news so bad that her mother went to bed? Lila tried to reason with the knots in her belly.

"How are you feeling sis?" Joey asked as they did the chore Jamie assigned them.

"Tired still, but I haven't been nauseated at all this week and...I can't wait to tell Mom I can finally drink my morning tea again!"

"Good for you, Sis, "Joey exclaimed. "You are going to handle this pregnancy thing, no sweat." Joey offered a light, playful one armed hug.

Lila smiled, "Joey, Steven wanted to be here but this just feel like the right moment so I'm going to ask you...We are positive that we want you to stand as Godfather for both the twins. There is no one I'd rather have guiding my children and Heaven forbid being a father figure to them if Steven and I aren't able to do it...So will you?"

Joey took a sharp breath and swallowed, "Of course I'll do it, anything for you and the babies, anything, you know that. Now the smoke eater..." Joey had to add a little humor the sentimental moment.

When Jamie and Eddie returned to the dining room, Joey and Lila were just ending their hug. "What's all this about?" Eddie asked. "Oh sweetie, you look adorable. I got her that shirt when we went shopping," Eddie told Jamie. "I smell dinner, kids help Grandpa and me with the bowls. Jamie sit down."

Jamie sat down and turned his ring around on his finger. He was really worried about Eddie. The appointment with the specialist produced what they had feared; confirmation that years of chemotherapy, pain pills, and cancer prevention drugs had begun to wear on her kidneys. She was placed on medication for high blood pressure that would also help with her kidney function, Jamie was upset to learn Eddie's blood pressure was much higher than his had been before his stroke. The doctor also prescribed something for pain and something for retention of fluid. He hoped all in all that would improve Eddie's overall health. Now they had to tell their children.

When the entire meal, fit for the Taj Mahal thanks to Frank's generosity and desire for his granddaughter to have whatever meal her heart desired, was on the table, Jamie nodded to Joey to say grace before beginning to pass.

"Lila, when does Steven rotate to days?" Frank asked. "We miss him at dinner or is he still hiding?"

"He's rotating on Monday for three weeks to days, which mean, Mom, can you take me to my 18 week checkup?"

"Of course," Eddie replied. "You know, your dad worked shifts and full time and he made all but two of my prenatal appointments and I think all except for three of my cancer appointments. Steven should make it more of a priority, I understand he has to work but he will never get these moments back."

"I know, but he won't get those paychecks back either," Lila replied. "He said absolutely no to any help beyond housing. He wants to make our way on our own."

"Stubborn…and they say we are thick headed," Frank laughed. "I'll talk to the smoke eater, make him see reason."

The conversation continued until the meal was over. When everyone was done Jamie reached for Eddie's hand and sighed, "Kids, we've already talked to Grandpa about this, but we have to let you in an a few things. Mom had her six month at Dr. McLean a few weeks ago and you both know he changed her medication and Lila you knew about the specialist. We went to the specialist today and he confirmed what Dr. McLean suspected. Mom is in the very early stages of kidney failure."

Joe nearly dropped his fork, surprised by the news, never thinking things could get worse than hearing his mother had cancer when he was seven years old, but it seems like they could.

"Mom? But how? What does this mean? You're going to get treatment right?" All the questions Joe was thinking came spilling out in a sea of emotion.

"From the medication I had to take all these years, sweetie," Eddie replied gently. "We talked to the specialist and we're going to consider..."

Before she could finish Joe looked accusingly at his sister. "You knew and didn't tell me!"

Lila sighed, she knew this would come back to her if Joe found out she knew about the specialist. "Joey, I only knew about the specialist because I came in the house one day while mom and dad were arguing about it and I overheard them. I told them to tell you because you'd be mad."

Joseph shook his head in disbelief, not only was his mom sick but his own sister knew and didn't tell him.

"So what happens now? What are the options the doctor gave you? Did he put you on more medication or what?" Joe was trying his very best to keep a handle on the situation but not doing a very good job hiding his emotions. He was scared for his mom having to go through this after her cancer. Frank could see the distress in his grandson's eyes, hurt and a deep concern he might be losing his mom.

"Let them talk, Joey," Frank urged gently. "Let your parents speak and then you ask questions. Take a big deep breath, I know this is hard to hear."

"The doctor put Mom on a blood pressure pill that has helped diabetics with kidney disease see improvements in their function. He also added a diuretic to help her body release fluids and a painkiller to assist with the side effects from the new anticancer pill. It's been hard, there's been weakness and joint pain. We are hopeful that Mom will be feeling better soon, but while she's adjusting there will be some rough days."

Eddie looked at the crestfallen faces of her children, "Why such long faces?" she asked. "I'm going to be okay, I have to take it easy for a couple weeks until my body adjusts but then I'll be just like I was before maybe better. This doesn't mean anything right now except that eventually my kidneys might stop working, but the doctor assured us that it would be years in the future."

Joey sighed, "I got to go, I have a big case and some research. I'll see you guy." Joey hurried out of the house before anyone could react. Eddie jumped up from the table to try to catch him but Frank stopped her, "Let him go, he's got to process this in his own way. Lila was too young, she doesn't have the memories Joey has, and she isn't scarred like he is."

Eddie nodded, "I just hate to see my kids hurting. Lila, are you okay?"

She nodded, "I was prepared and it's not as bad as I thought it was at first. I'll do anything you need to help."

Eddie gave Lila a hug, 'Thank you baby, you take care of yourself and my grandbabies, today was a shock, but tomorrow will be like any other day. I promise."

Lila nodded, hoping her mother's words were true. She stayed late into the night helping to clean up and hoping Joey would return but he didn't. "I'll call him tomorrow," Lila told Jamie and Eddie as she prepared to go home. "He'll come around or I'll make him.'

Eddie laughed, seeing herself and her resolve in her daughter. She would need it to be a firefighter's wife and mother to twins. As Lila left, Jamie slid his arm around Eddie, "It'll be okay. Stop worrying and go up to bed. I'll give Dad his treatment and join you. Remember he said rest is really important until your body adjusts."

Eddie nodded and headed upstairs, she was exhausted and her heart was heavy. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her kids and it seemed that was what she had done. Even with Lila and Jamie's reassurance that Joey would come around, Eddie still ended a very rough day crying herself to sleep, not for her own sorrows, but for her son's.

Joey parked his car outside Molly's building and jogged up the four flights to her apartment. "Molly, open up," he called when his knocking didn't produce the desired result.

Molly stumbled out of her bed as soon as she heard the urgent tone in Joey's voice. She undid the considerable number of locks on her door and opened it to see her rather disheveled looking boyfriend standing in front of her.

"Joe, what's going on?" Molly asked. "She had to be at work at five the next morning, but his face said so much. "What's happened?"

Molly let Joey inside and allowed him to wrap his arms around her, holding her tight. Molly simply rubbed Joey's back up and down, "It's all right, me dear one," she murmured. "It's all right. Now tell me." She held his hands and sat him on the sofa.

"Mom's…" Joey took a breath. "My mom's in kidney failure, they told us tonight. Lila knew all about it, that she had to see special doctors. That's why she's on the pills that made her fall, and why she's hurting so much. Dad said it's early and she is on medication but…" Joey's face crumbled and he began to cry.

Molly pulled his head to her breast, rocking back and forth. Joey didn't realize his mother was in bed, curled into first her pillow and then his father's arms crying as well. Neither he nor Eddie were crying for themselves, they were crying for each other.

"She'll have to be careful, but she can live a long time. You be a good son to her, you are already a good son…and you be there and help that way when the angels come down for yer Momma you won't have any heaviness on yer heart. I'll check on her a lot and see what I think might need doing, but kidney disease she can live with it well enough. I promise ye."

Joey felt comforted by Molly's touch and her soft words. He didn't want to leave the safety of her warm arms and soft brogue. "Can I stay here tonight?" he whispered.

Molly nodded only once, then stood, then led Joey by the hand to her bedroom to comfort him with a night in her arms.

 **A/N: Already on Chapter then. This story will be at least 30 chapters, perhaps longer. Very special thanks to my readers and followers, please let me hear from you. I have notices views and reviews a little lower lately so please let me know there is still interest. Hope everyone has a great weekened. Second installment of Pillow Talk – Absolute Power will post tonight, with the final tomorrow night. Be sure to check it out.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The alarm went off at 6:30am nine days later. Jamie reached out to shut it off not wanting it to disturb Eddie. She had been up and down most of the night with back pain, and had fallen again coming back from the bathroom.

Eddie opened her eyes though, and looked straight at Jamie. "Can you call Detective Meyers and cancel your meetings? I don't think I can get up to help your Dad or take Lila to the doctor. Please Jamie."

It broke Jamie's heart to heart that soft plea from his wife. There was no way he could stay home all day as much as he wanted to. "I know when I take the next pill it will only get worse."

Jamie sighed, the doctor said that it could take six weeks for her to get back to herself with her new medicines. "I can't cancel my whole day, sweetheart. I can see if Lila can come over now and take care of you and Dad, I'll leave at one and take her to the doctor and come home when we're through."

Eddie nodded, she knew it was a lot to ask but on the very bad days, she just wanted Jamie. Jamie dialed Lila's cell phone waking her up out of sound sleep. "I'm sorry to wake you Kitten but I need you at the house in an hour. I have to work the morning and Mom isn't having a good day."

"I'm up and I'll get ready now, I can grab a nap if I need…Oh what about my appointment? Should I see if Aunt Erin…"

"Grandpa should be fine with Mom during your appointment, I'll take you to the doctor then come home and take over," Jamie told Lila. "I will see you later…"

"I'll see you later, Dad," Lila replied and got up to get washed and dressed.

Jamie ate his breakfast and drank his coffee. He woke Frank and started his morning nebulizer. "Eddie's really bad today, Dad. She's been in pain all night, up and down, she's weak this morning and up in bed. Lila is going to be here to help out until her doctor's appointment."

"I'll take her some tea and sit with her," Frank replied getting up. "I'll make sure she has all her medications as soon as I've done mine."

Jamie smiled, "You take such good care of us, Dad. Thanks…just don't give yourself into a spell climbing the steps."

Jamie headed out to the SUV just as Lila arrived. "Hey, thanks for doing this. I feel terrible leaving her, she actually ASKED for me not to go in but I have no choice. Make sure she eats something even if it comes back up and a cold cloth on the back of her neck that seems to ease a lot of the pain."

"I know, Dad," Lila told Jamie. "Stop worrying. I'll handle it. My appointment is at 2, so I'll see you here at 1." Lila gave Jamie a hug and hurried inside to see to her mother.

Lila made oatmeal with cashew milk, her mother's secret and carried it upstairs. Eddie was on her side, her eyes closed. "Mom, I have you pills and your breakfast. Can you sit up?"

Eddie nodded and pushed herself up in bed, "I'm sorry honey, I…"

"Ssh, eat so you can lie down and rest, Mom. The doctor said this would happen while you adjusted, there's nothing to be afraid of," Lila soothed. "Here…I made it your way and added cinnamon to it too."

Lila sat on the bed with her feet up, "Steven and I started looking at houses on line and we found a few we really liked. "We're going to talk to Daddy about a budget and all that but some of these places are really great.'

Eddie smiled, "I'm happy for you honey. Has Steven fixed things with his parents?"

Lila shook her head, "He had this huge fight with his Dad about that dinner and they aren't speaking. I talked to Joey and he said he and Molly aren't coming Sunday, something with his case. He's really being hit from all sides. He's always been your baby, and I've always been Dad's but that's changing."

"You have BOTH always been my babies," Eddie corrected. "And you both always will be. I don't love one or you less or more. I love you differently and you will see that soon yourself honey. You will love both of those babies more than anything but you will love one for their tenacity and the other just as much for their ability to back off…You'll see baby."

Eddie finished her breakfast just as Frank arrived with tea, "This will make you feel better," he said confidently before sitting in the big recliner and opening his morning paper.

Lila and Eddie napped until just before Jamie got home. He changed quietly and nudged Lila, "Hey, Kitten, you ready? The detail is downstairs listening to Grandpa's stories."

"The detail?"

Jamie nodded, "Yes, big public place…no choice. I'm sorry. They won't come into the room, I promise."

Lila laughed a little bit at the thought of a police escort to her OB appointment. She got her shoes on and headed out with Jamie. "Mom did well, she ate and took her pills then drank tea for Grandpa."

"Good, that's good," Jamie replied. "Are you sure about those shoes?"

Lila looked down at her flip flops with a slight wedge heel, "Yeah, they're comfortable, let's go we'll be late."

Lila got into the SUV and buckled in as Jamie directed the driver to the hospital. They parked in front of the women's center and did a security sweep of the entrance before allowing Jamie and Lila out of the car. They walked into the maternity suite after another security sweep. A few of the mothers waiting looked them over uncomfortable with the intrusion. Finally Jamie sat down next to Lila and opened a magazine flipping through it scoffing at some of the things that were now considered "bad". "We used to put you and Joey on the dryer all the time, let you melt and relax. Now apparently it's bad."

Lila rubbed her belly, "Well if I am relying you and Mom to help I think I'll stick with the tried and true methods."

Jamie kissed her brow, "You feeling them yet?"

"Just a little bit, the one on top a lot more than the one on the bottom," Lila said. "That one is a little shy."

Jamie covered Lila's hand, "Mention it to the doctor."

A half hour later the nurse called Lila in, "Do you want me to come in?" Jamie asked and Lila nodded her head. "You can hear their heart beats."

Jamie smiled and took Lila's hand. The nurse checked her weight. "Very good, your weight is right on target." She took Lila's blood pressure, "It's little elevated, what have you been eating?"

Lila thought, "Lots of Indian and Thai food and Oreos, can't get enough Oreos."

"You might need to cut back on the salty foods," the nurse advised. "But let's see what Dr. Mianni says."

Lila laid back and sighed, she was nervous but didn't want to let on in front of her father, but Jamie still knew. He rubbed her head gently, "It's all right, Kitten. Don't worry or it will affect the reading? Try closing your eyes, going into your breathe and just letting everything flow. That's my good girl."

"Hello, Lila," Dr. Mianni greeted smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," she replied smiling. "This is my father, Commissioner Jamie Reagan."

"Nice to meet you, I heard we had a celebrity."

Jamie blushed as the exam began. "All right, I see you had a little elevation in your blood pressure, so for the next few weeks I want you to try to avoid stressing and lower the sodium in your diet. It's not generally gestational this early but we'll keep an eye on it. Are they moving?"

"Yes, the higher twin moves more than the lower twin, is that normal?"

"Yes, some babies are more active than others," Dr. Mianni explained. "Let's listen to their heart beats and we'll schedule your fetal anatomy for three weeks."

Jamie held Lila's hand as the doctor took the doplar machine out and moved it around Lila's belly. The heartbeats were loud, fast, and very strong. "That's baby A, the lower baby," the doctor described. "Beat is nice and strong and this…" She moved the Machine higher, "Is baby B. Also, nice and strong."

Jamie felt his throat close, he remembered this moment with Joey and Lila and now his grandchildren. "How's that for special, Grandpa?" Lila asked.

"This is the most precious moment I can remember for a long time…" Jamie stroked Lila's hair. "So she's all right?"

Dr. Mianni nodded, "Lila and the babies are fine. Cut back on the salt, take some time to put your feet up a few times a day, and try to take time to relax, all right?"

Lila nodded and smiled as she slid off the table. "Daddy, don't start to worry, I'm going to take good care of myself but I can still help with Mom. I will help her and get my rest too."

Jamie kissed Lila's head, she could read him as well as Eddie could. "Let's go home baby," Jamie offered. "You can lie down by Mom for a bit and we'll order deli for dinner."

Lila slid her arm around Jamie's waist, "Sound good to me."

 **A/N: Special moment for Grandpa Jamie, hearing those heartbeats, a nice way to end the day. Got to love Frank, still taking care of his kids even at his age. Don't count the old man out yet!**

 **Next up: Joey, Jack, and Sean catch up over beers, Joey discusses his challenging case with Jamie.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Joey sighed as he combed through the casefile on the latest victim. "We have to get this guy soon, Anse…this is the fifth victim now. No pattern in the victims, no specific place, the only thing connecting them is the stocking over their eyes…except…Jenna Rollins, age 12…"

"Joe, that girl is a dead end. You get a description out of her, it doesn't hold up in court." Joey tossed his pen and pounded his fist on the desk.

"Who cares about whether it holds up? If we get description, we have a place to focus and can produce evidence that will hold up. I'm calling her mother and asking her to bring Jenna in!"

Anse shook his head. He had worked SVU for years. Sometimes these disabled kids were functional enough to be questioned, but this girl…Each time they tried it ended with her screaming nonsense, flailing her arms, and banging her head on the floor. That last time they tried, she bit herself. "You want to go for it, Rookie? Be my guest."

Joey nodded firmly, picked up the phone and dialed Ms. Dennis' cell phone to make his request. "I need a day to prepare Jenna for more questions, but yes, I am willing to bring her in for you to talk to her again."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Joey replied. "Ma'am, does Jenna have a favorite food or a favorite candy?"

"Yes, she likes those little cheese bites, the ones that come with fruit," Ms. Dennis replied. "The white cheddar is her favorite."

Joey wrote that down, "And does she have a favorite color?"

"Green, why are you asking me this?" Ms. Dennis asked.

"My father worked off and on with children and young adults like Jenna when he was a detective and riding a beat. He told me he suspected, from my descriptions, that Jenna is socially delayed and engaging her with things she likes might help her focus. I hope to use some of his techniques to help her free herself of this man's image."

Ms. Dennis agreed and then call ended with a promise that she would produce her daughter for questioning at four the next day.

"Make yourself useful, Anse," Joey told his reluctant partner. "Get me like four or five of those fruit cups with the cheese and some sandwich bags, will you?"

Anse took the money and the list then left with a quick word with their Captain.

"Reagan, my office," Captain Benson called to her newest SVU detective. Joey rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Didn't I tell that I wanted you to drop this lead? That Jenna isn't…"

"Yes, you told me, but with respect, Ma'am, I don't agree with you. You have questioned vics with Down syndrome, CP, and other disabilities. Jenna is no different. She knows who raped her, Captain. She knows what he looked like and I'm going to find out and get this guy. Her mother is bringing her tomorrow for another talk."

"If you persist in pursuing this investigation from this angle against my orders…"

Joey backed up. "You make your call, I'll make mine. We have a rapist out there that's raped five preteen girls, he's going to do it again and again unless we stop him. I aim to do that." Joey turned on a heel and walked out of the office and the squad praying he could rely on his father to back him up.

Eddie smiled when she saw Linda's face at the door, "Hey, this is a nice surprise!" Eddie offered her sister-in-law a hug.

"I was in the neighborhood," Linda replied but received a raised eyebrow.

"Jamie and Danny were going for a beer so I swung by to see how you were, I know at dinners you put up a front to keep Jamie and the rest of the family calm, but I want to know so…"

Eddie sighed, "Well, none of my clothing fits right and Jamie thinks I'm going to the Policeman's ball with him looking like this…"

"Well, let's go shopping together, the four of us, you, me, Erin and Lila. We'll find your something. It's not your fault, Jamie doesn't love anything else in this world as much as you. We can help you pick out some nice clothes that you can wear and feel good about yourself. You have us Eddie, you have all of us. A lot of times you build up a wall, keep yourself private and that's okay, but we all love you Eddie. That love is strength. Use it. Lean on it…and it will see you through. Now let me help by doing Frank's medicine, you take a hot bath, Jamie will be happy to see you rested when he gets home."

Eddie smiled and offered Linda a warm hug, it did feel good to hear from another woman that it would be okay, only another woman would understand the body image problems that Eddie faces as she watched her petite frame fill out with something other than pregnancy. She would take Linda up on shopping, maybe she'd feel better about herself with a new wardrobe.

"Bullseye!" Jamie exclaimed after his dart met its mark. "I told you, stroke, glasses, and I am still the better shot!"

Danny scoffed, "Yeah, that's just because of all of the times you had to raise your game to prevent being beaten by your wife!"

Jamie sighed as the two brothers took a seat in a booth. "I hope that Linda is able to talk to her. She has been wearing my robe and boxers for a week. According to her, she is an unattractive blimp that can never be seen out of the house again."

Danny took a sip of his whiskey, "I'm so lucky that I never had to go through anything like that with Linda. I am so sorry, Jamie that you and Eddie are facing problems like this again."

"I know, we can get through it, we can get through anything we have to," Jamie replied. "I know we can. I just hate hearing her say those things."

"Well, when you go home tonight, even if you aren't feeling it, try to show her the what is it, 15 lbs, doesn't matter to you."

"It doesn't," Jamie replied. "We've both been tired, most of the time Eddie is in a lot of pain at night. She gets tired and even with Linda helping out with Dad and Molly coming over…I can't stand seeing her like this Danny."

Danny felt terrible for his brother, he reached over and rubbed Jamie's arm. "I wish I could say I understood, I don't but I'm always here to listen."

Jamie smiled, "I know, Danny. One more…Hey, are those our kids over there?"

Danny turned and looked at his two sons and Joey drinking beers. "Let's send them a round. Waiter…three for those young men over there."

"Missed you at dinner," Jack commented to Joey as the three cousins sat together drinking beers to unwind.

"Yeah, I'm buried in that serial rapist case," Joey replied. "Benson is breaking my ass about wanting to bring in the autistic girl. The guy knew she was autistic, he knew she was not able to communicate well if at all, he didn't take the precautions that he usually took."

Sean sighed, "I treated three of those girls. He doesn't take his time, he strikes hard and fast. There's a lot of damage, tearing, bruising. I'll give you any statement you need."

Jack sighed, "By the way, you need to come to 1PP tomorrow at 9 am. You'll get the official page in the morning but your command issued a disciplinary actions for violating an order so…"

Joey nodded, "Dad told me he'd back me."

"I don't know about that or not but I'll plead your case," Jack sipped his beer. "Rita had a niece that was raped at fourteen, she said she was never the same after no matter how much help she got. We have to get this guy, but Benson, she resents being behind the desk at the level she is now."

"She's too old," Joey complained. "Really, she's older than Dad, Jack. She's out of touch and too controlling. Dad hated mandatory retirement but in this case, she should go out on top of her career."

"We had a doctor at the ER like that," he replied. "He was getting too old, didn't embrace new ways new ideas…the board terminated him. I know it's not easy, but Uncle Jamie needs to do something about that."

"I'm sure he will," Jack assured his younger brother. "So, how's it going with you and Molly?

Joey blushed, "It's good, it's going really good."

"Oh," Sean laughed. "Yeah, I noticed you brought her to quite a few dinners, so you serious?"

"Molly has been a big help," Joey replied. "And she is a loving, beautiful woman and I am totally on board with getting serious. I'm going to Wednesday dinner alone but bringing her on Sunday. I need to talk to my parents, I haven't really seen my Mom since she lowered the boom on us."

"You know, kidney failure is pretty common in people on long term cancer meds and on and off of chemo. The medications are great nowadays, and there are new anticancer meds. I think that after she adjusts she'll be fine."

"I'm glad of that then," Joey sighed. "It's just hard to watch her like this. To watch her in pain and feeling weak. She's not that old and she is the best person…"

Jack nodded, "Uncle Jamie's been missing a lot of days so I think Aunt Eddie is still needing his help quite a bit. If I were you, I'd ask about her tomorrow, if he's angry at you for staying away…" Jack sipped his beer.

"I know, but Dad's not like that, he'll keep it business, but he's open to my techniques, he's even helping me." Joey poured himself more beer just as the waiter Danny had spoken to arrived with the drinks, "We didn't order these," Sean spoke up.

"No, courtesy of the men over there," the waiter pointed to where Danny and Jamie were sitting.

"Figures we would come to the same bar as our fathers," Sean laughed as the boys lifted their glasses to the older men who departed a few minutes later.

The cousins' chatter soon turned to women, sports, and other male bonding topics. They finished their beers and burgers and headed their separate ways.

In Brooklyn, Jamie climbed the stairs leaning on his cane. He was tired, but the beers with Danny helped him release some of his frustrations. He found Eddie standing naked in front of the mirror looking at what three weeks of the new medication had done to her figure.

"What are you doing babe?" Jamie walked towards her until he stood right behind her. He knew then the talk with Linda had done nothing to help her feel better. He'd have to put Danny's advice to work.

Eddie gave one more look in the mirror sighing. "Just checking what the medicine did to me. I'm so fat, how can you still love all this?" She pinched a roll of flesh around her midsection, she has put one some significant weight.

Jamie quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in to kiss her neck whispering, "Don't say that Eddie; you are just as beautiful as the day I met you."

Eddie huffed turning her attention to the mirror. "Look at me!"

Jamie moved around standing on her left side draping an arm around her shoulder.

"Eddie, listen to me, with that beautiful body you gave us two beautiful kids. I love you even more every day."

Eddie sighed, "I'm sorry, Jamie. I tried so hard to stay in shape. You had a stroke and you still look like stud."

Jamie pulled Eddie close and led her to their bed, "Get under before you catch cold. I am too tired tonight to show you how beautiful you are, but I promise I will after I deal with our wayward son."

"He's still so mad at me," Eddie sighed. "We should have told him after we were force to tell Lila. He won't recognize me, I look like the Goodyear blimp."

Jamie slid into bed offering Eddie her nightgown, "Stop it, you are his mother, he just needed time. All he will see is beauty…you are alive and breathing and here to whine about gaining weight. You'll see. Let's get some rest now…" Jamie slid his arm around Eddie and snuggled her to him. "Good night, pretty girl."

Eddie sighed and kissed Jamie, "Good night, honey. I'm going to hold you to that promise…It's been a while…I miss…"

Jamie leaned over and dropped a kiss on her lips, "That my dear, seals my promise…"

When Jamie arrived at 1PP the next morning, Joey was already waiting for him. "How are you son?" Jamie asked, he vowed he'd be a father first and a Commissioner second, opposite of his own father.

"I'm good. I texted Mom last night and this morning but she didn't answer. I wanted to see if she wanted me to pick up Wednesday dinner tomorrow?"

"Oh, Mom dropped her cell in the toilet again but if you call the house or call me tonight, I'll let you talk to her," Jamie replied. "She's getting stronger. She hasn't had a weak spell in days and the pain is easing some. Do not say anything about her weight, she's gained almost fifteen pounds in a few weeks."

"Oh man," Joey sighed. "I'm sorry Dad…I know that's hard on her, and I know it doesn't matter to you at all."

"Her life and your kids, that's what matters," Jamie sighed. "But I have to put my commissioner hat on now, Joe. You defied your Captain yesterday and you're going against the advice of your partner as well."

"Sir," Joey began but Jamie held up his hand.

"That being said, we discussed this portion of the investigation and I am on board with it, but since you are on a limb, I insist on being present when you question your young witness."

Joey smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Meet me at my house at 3:30, and no tie, Jenna seems to be really upset by ties, her mom told me."

"I'll see you there, Detective. I will handle your Captain, but if you defy on any other case for any other reason, I'll sign the rip myself. Got it?!"

Joey nodded," Absolutely sir. I'll see you this afternoon."

With a bounce in his step, Joey headed back to his squad, pausing to call his mother on the way.

 **A/N: Shout out to JLMayer for suggesting the beers between Jamie and Danny. I did want to bring some brother and cousin time to this piece that is focusing mostly on Lila and her family's growth. There will be a lot more Danny and Linda in upcoming pieces, especially installment five, One of Our Own. Still, I do hear your desire for Danny and I will try to incorporate the older Reagan brother where appropriate. Thanks for your loyalty.**

 **Next up: Joey breaks through to Jenna and Eddie breaks through to Joey.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Jamie's detail dropped him off at the 2-7 precinct just before 3:30. "Ten hut!" came the order from the duty Sergeant as Jamie entered the room with his appointed bodyguards. "As you were," Jamie replied. He would never get used to the fanfare.

Joey was at his desk placing the small blocks of cheese into a bag. He had different color paper, crayons, yarn...all sorts of things his witness might be able to use to help describe the wretched person that attacked her.

Joey looked up at his father and smiled, "I don't know what she'll respond to besides the cheese," he explained. "Sean called a half hour ago, there's another victim. Anse went to check it out, 11 years old, stocking over her eyes, a silk, black stocking." Joey said it like it was dirty.

"Detective Reagan," Jamie said firmly. "Did we have a talk about this when I approved your transfer?"

"Yes, Sir, we did and this is not that," Joey assured him. "We'll be in the interrogation room in the back. I'm going to get it prepped."

Jamie nodded and stepped over to the Captain's office, "Captain, a word please?"

She would never not obey the words of her Commissioner, so Captain Benson nodded and waited until he sat. "I know Detective Reagan can be a challenge, no one knows it better than me. He has a lot of my brother Danny in him, that's the trouble. "

"He's running after a dead end, Sir," Captain Benson replied. "I want to get this guy as much as the next person, but this girl is severely socially delayed and is almost nonverbal. I advised him to spend his time on the five, now six other girls that might be able to offer us more."

"It's my understanding from both Detectives that none of the other girls are able to give an ID, that he wasn't as meticulous with Jenna Rollins because of her mental impairments. If Detective Reagan thinks he can get somewhere, as his superior we need to at least let him try. There are new ways, new techniques than anything you or even I have worked with. There's fifteen years between us, I do not advocate mandatory retirements for non-field officers, but you need to stay out of Joe's way and the other members of the squad. Joe never complained but others have. It's not your day in the field anymore."

"Are you saying if I don't let you son do what he pleases..."

Jamie shook his head, "I never gave Joe special treatment, I won't start now. I told him in no uncertain terms if he is going to continue to disobey you he will receive a rip and perhaps be pulled from SVU. I am telling you the same, you all must work together. A lot of people think because you're one of the oldest members of the NYPD that you can't do this job, prove them wrong."

Jamie rose and headed down the hall just as Jenna and her mother arrived for questioning.

Jamie carefully walked past the mother and child and went into the interrogation room being sure to remove his tie as Joey directed the day before.

Joey stepped out and smiled at Jenna. "Hi Jenna, do you remember me, Detective Joe…" He offered her his hand but she ignored him. "Come on inside this room, I have someone special friend for you to say hello to."

Joey led Jenna into the room and Jamie stood up. "Jenna, this is my Dad. This is Commissioner Reagan…but you can call him Commissioner Jamie."

"Hello, Jenna," Jamie smiled. "How about you have a seat in this nice chair right here?" Jamie watched as the girl, seeming to trust Joey, sat near him. Her eyes lit on the cheese in the snack bag. She reached for it.

"Jenna," Joey handed her two cubes. "I want to talk about the man that hurt you by the park. Now I know words aren't your favorite things, so how about we try this…I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to point to the right thing. Let's give it a try, okay?" Joey placed different shades of yarn on the table. "Point to the color that was like the man's hair."

Jenna considered the yarn that Joey had laid out. He had all sort of shades of each of the colors. Jenna pushed the reds, the browns, and the blacks to the floor immediately and quickly selected a sandy blonde colored thread with just enough yellow to keep it from being brown.

"Way to go, Jenna! You did a great job!" Joey handed her two more pieces of her favorite cheese. "Point to the skin color?" Joey showed her skin tone shaded construction paper. Jenna picked a piece of paper that was pale pink. Again, Joey smiled at the girl and rewarded her. Joey was meticulous, he showed Jenna papers for the eye color, shapes to ascertain if the perp had a round face, oval face, or squared jaw, and sandpaper and silk to determine skin texture.

Jenna picked each time with certainty and almost violently discarded the other choices. Finally Joey showed her a picture of a scar, freckles, a tattoo, and other body marks. Jenna picked the tattoo. "Good work, can you show me where that is on me? Point to the place?"

Jenna pointed to the left forearm and started to move her hand in a slithering like a snake. "It's a snake? His tattoo is like a snake?" Jenna didn't reply but reached for the cheese taking two pieces, her reward for an answer.

Joey beamed, "You did terrific, Jenna. How about we take you back to your Mom?" Joey offered Jenna his hand, this time she took it and followed him out to her Mom. "She did fabulous, in a few days, when she's calmed down, my partner and I will come out with some pictures for her to look at."

Ms. Dennis smiled, "Thank you for taking your time with her, Detective Reagan. I've been meaning to ask you…any relation to…"

Jamie stepped out of the interrogation room, "Yes," he replied. "I'm his father."

"You have a very special son," Ms. Dennis told Jamie. "Jenna wave goodbye to the detective."

Jenna offered a rare smile and waved.

Jamie and Joey didn't arrive with the Chinese food for Wednesday dinner until nearly six thirty. Eddie fixed her eyes on Jamie in a cold glare. "You are NOT supposed to be over doing it and here you are working a ten hour day!"

Joey looked at his mother, Jamie was right. The weight gain was obvious to anyone with eyes, her face was a little puffy as well as her hands and neck. She only wore slippers so perhaps her feet as well. "It's my fault, Mom," Joey piped up. "But Dad was relaxing while I did the questions, he was just was there in case my Captain had issues."

Eddie nodded, "It went well then?"

"It was great, we have something to work with now," Joey replied. "But now it's dinner time." Jamie and Lila were already unloading the bags. Joey stepped closer to Eddie and put his arms around her, "I'm sorry Mom. I overreacted, and I am so sorry I hurt you."

Eddie leaned against Joey, "It's all right honey, but you can't keep flying off the handle like this. Things are going to come up for me and for Dad too. I know when you hear about something going wrong with me and my health, you are seven years old again, scared and powerless…Maybe you need to talk about that with someone, maybe you and I should see someone together and talk about it."

Joey sighed and slid his arm around Eddie, "I'll think about it but I have to realize I'm not powerless, I can do things for you now I couldn't then, like take good care of you when you need me. I'm sorry I left you when you were sick and scared."

Eddie smiled, "Let's go eat, I am feeling better now and I'm hungry." They entered the dining room with their arms wrapped around each other.

That night, Eddie and Jamie both remembered why they instated their special Wednesday dinners. It was a time for them to bond with their children, for Frank to connect with his youngest grandchildren…it was just a special time.

Eddie carefully chose her food, she picked on what was on her plate. "Mom, you have to eat more than that," Lila encouraged. "It's so good too. Good pick, Joey."

"Hey, what am I chopped liver?" Jamie laughed. "Eddie, this moo shu pork is to die for, you really need to try some."

Eddie sighed, "Well, I'm fat no matter what I do," she sighed and loaded up her plate.

After Lila and Joey left to go home, and Frank was sound asleep in bed, the house sat in a hushed silence. Jamie walked into the bedroom where Eddie already started undressing, this time not obsessing over her body, all she wanted to do was rest her sore legs and feet.

With a smile Jamie went up to her from behind, as she slid on her nightgown and wrapped his arms around her waist allowing him to kiss her neck. He knew he was working beyond his promise lately. "I'm sorry Eddie. I know I'm supposed to be taking it easy. I love how you look out for me."

Eddie spun around facing him their bodies inches apart. She looked up meeting his blue eyes, worry and concern twinkling in hers. "Of course I do, Jamie. I love you. I don't want to go through what we did again. I am finally getting you back, I'm trying to get better too so we can have a life together when you finally retire. "

Jamie smiled pulling her waist closer so their bodies touched rocking back and forth never taking his eyes of hers. "I love you too," Jamie whispered, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "And I promise you, we will have those things. Those special things…" He dropped another kiss on her nose.

"Jamie, let's lay down." Eddie knew she had to put her feet up. Jamie complied and slipped a hand around her waist under her nightshirt as they slipped into bed and settled into each other's arms.

 **A/N: Joey's made a break in his case and Eddie is slowly but surely starting to get better. For my Danny fans, there is more Danny and Linda coming in future chapters, but Wednesday dinner is just for the Jamison Reagan branch of the family, plus Frank because he rules the roost.**

 **Next updated – May 8 – Lila and Steven make a crucial decision regarding their twins, Jamie and Steven have a father/son chat.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"We have to decide, Steven," said a frustrated Lila as they ate lunch together outside the firehouse. "The appointment's in an hour." It was the day of Lila's twenty week ultrasound and Steven decided he could not miss this all important appointment. She had packed some fried chicken and potato salad, a meal that held great meaning for her mother and had a picnic with her husband in the warm sun.

"I know it is," replied Steven, "I'm still not sure what I want to do is all." They'd been having the "do we find out the sex of the babies or not" debate for the past two weeks. They agreed that they had to be united whatever the final decision, but that was as far as agreement had gotten them.

"Well, I'd like to find out just because it'll be easier to choose a nursery theme and shop for baby clothes, especially if we are getting one of each," Lila reasoned. "But if you don't want to find out, I don't want to force it on you."

"I know, baby," Steven sighed. "I understand what you're saying and I want you to be happy, I just can't help but feel like the delivery will be more special if we don't already know what we're having."

"Steven, you're talking about the birth of our first child and our second, it's going to be special regardless of if we know the sexes or not," replied Lila.

"Well, of course it is, but it'd be really amazing to hear the 'it's a boy!' or 'it's a girl!' as soon as the babies are born. I guess I've just always pictured it happening that way."

"Always?" asked Lila. "Just how long is 'always'?"

"From the moment I knew we'd spend the rest of our lives together," answered Steven. "I've been dreaming about this day for so long, Lila, about how exciting it'll be, how I'll be right beside you no matter how many hours it takes, about how exciting it'll be to find out if we have a son or a daughter…Or now sons, daughters, or a son and a daughter. I never imagined twins when I used to lie on bed and think of us having our family." Steven's words trailed off as he began to choke up.

"Oh…." said Lila, also choked up at the mental picture Steven had painted. "That's it then, we're waiting."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure" she answered. "I want it to be just the way you've imagined it. I didn't realize it was something you'd put so much thought into for so long, and there's no way I'll let the convenience of buying the right color of sleepers and caps a few months early take that away from you - from us."

"Thanks, Lila," said Steven, a few tears still visible in his deep blue eyes. "Finish your lunch, we don't want to be late for the appointment."

"Definitely not," answered Lila, sniffling just a bit. "Even though we're not finding out the sex, it'll still be great to see the babies."

"Yeah, maybe they'll actually look like a babies this time," said Steven "I'm still waiting for that to happen!"

"They dolook like babies, Steven. You just need some practice at shadow recognition is all," said Lila as she finished the last bite of her lunch.

"Yeah, maybe so, but you've got to admit those pictures aren't easy to figure out," replied Steven.

"Come along, my dear," said Lila, choosing to avoid another discussion on ultrasound pictures and how impossible they were to make sense of. "Time to go."

"Okay, okay," said Steven with a smile, and the two of them headed for the car.

Each time Lila and Steven sat in the waiting room Lila looked more and more like she fit in. When she first came with Eddie, she was still small and had a flat stomach. Now at nearly 20 weeks, a little more than half way with twins, she had a rounder belly to rest her hands on. Lila was called very quickly today, much to her delight, usually the doctor ran behind.

"Hello Lila, Steven," said Dr. Mianni as she entered and held out her hand to each of them. "How are you both today?" asked the doctor.

"We're doing well," replied Lila "We'd been stressing over whether or not we wanted to find out the sexes of the babies, but we finally reached a resolution on that matter, so we're good."

"I see, and what did you decide?" asked Dr. Mianni.

"We don't want to find out anything about the twins. We don't want to know the sex or if they are identical or fraternal," answered Steven. "We'd rather wait until the delivery, make it an even more special day." He looked over at Lila and smiled.

"That's fine, whatever you two are comfortable with is fine with me," said the doctor. "Most folks nowadays want to know as soon as possible, but I think there's something to be said for not finding out. Like you said, it makes the delivery just a little bit more special."

"It'll be special no matter what, but yeah, we think waiting is the right thing for us," Lila replied

"Well, we don't need to wait any longer to get started here, are you ready?" asked the doctor as she reached for the bottle of ultrasound gel.

"Very," answered Lila. "Go for it." Steven stepped over next to the table and took Lila's hand as she laid back.

The doctor squeezed the warm-yet-somehow-still-cold gel onto Lila's tummy and moved the wand around until she found her place.

"Steven, could you get the lights, please?" she asked. He reached around behind himself and flipped the switch.

"Okay…let's see here….." said Dr. Mianni as she slowly moved the wand. "Let's get some measurements of a few things…." Steven and Lila watched contently, still amazed that they were seeing their babies.

"Well," said the doctor. "If you did want to know the sexes, I've got a very good idea as to what they are, but I'm not going to tell you."

"That's right, don't tell us!" said Lila. "It was too hard to come to a decision on that, and we finally did, and we're sticking to it!"

"Indeed," echoed Steven. "Don't even give us a hint of a clue of what it is, please!"

"Don't worry, I'm very good at keeping secrets" said Dr. Mianni with a smile.

She continued moving the wand around, taking measurements and pictures, and towards the end she got one that was just amazing.

"Oh, look here guys," she said pointing to the screen, which she'd frozen for a moment. Steven and Lila looked to where the doctor was pointing.

"Hey, it's a hand!" said Steven excitedly.

"Yes, it is," said the doctor. "That one is Baby A, your shy little baby. It's hiding it's face. Pretty neat, huh?"

"And you thought you'd never be able to make out anything on these ultrasounds" Lila said to Steven, herself in awe at seeing such a clear and perfect image of her child's hand on the screen.

"Well, I can make out things when they're that obvious!" said Steven with a huge smile.

"I'll print you a copy of this shot, I know you'll want it," said the doctor.

"Thanks," said Lila, "We've got a nice little collection of these already in the baby books."

"Something you'll treasure forever," said Dr. Mianni.

"We sure will," replied Steven, thrilled that he finally saw something recognizable. He thought about how wonderful it was to see that tiny little hand and to know that in another 4-and-a-half months, he'd get to hold it in his own. He couldn't wait.

Lila and Steven sat on the family sofa that night enjoying cake and coffee, or in Lila's case herbal tea, looking online at the vast amount of items there were to register for.

"It looks like most of the things for twins are just two of the same thing," Lila observed. "Do you think we can start with just the one crib and after a while…"

"I think we need to start them on two cribs," Steven replied. "They are going to be used to being with each other in the womb but we need to let them be who they are. I think we should wait until they are born to pick their bedding, if they aren't identical…"

"But if we do that their room won't be ready when we bring them home from the hospital," Lila sighed. "I know you are wanting them to have their own personalities and by the houses you are downloading online, their own rooms but…"

"Kitten, putting baby bedding together is simple. I can do that with you brother. You pick out some beddings you want and after the babies come, we'll buy the right ones and set them up. I agree with Steven, the babies have to have their own personalities."

Lila nodded and clicked on several bedding sets, emailing them to her mother so Eddie could help Jamie in purchasing them.

"From what I've read, the hardest selection for twins is their stroller, whether it's side by side or tandem…" Lila sighed. "Side by side is easier to maneuver but it's too wide for places like the grocery store or church." She sighed and put her hand on her belly.

"With your build I would definitely say a side by side is better," Eddie offered. "But you are right…the size..."

"There aren't tons of options in either model," Lila observed. "Most of them just come in different colors but I think black would work color wise."

Lila continued to click through the stroller and lit on one she really liked. "What about this…" She showed a picture of a black and grey Graco tandem stroller that would fit two of their car seats…"

Steven looked, "They include the seats too baby. But it's $900.00," he sighed. "These prices are outrageous."

"Well, hopefully my Aunt Erin and Aunt Linda will be feeling generous if not the guys at work," Lila commented as she made note of the combination stroller for when they did their registry in a few weeks. Steven pulled out his phone, "Jamie, I found a few houses Lila and I are going to look at next week but I wanted to talk about the down payment. The cheapest I can find in this area is $1.7 million, with the 20% down…"

Jamie nodded, "Don't look at anything that exceeds $2 million. I can do a down payment on a house up to two million."

Steven nodded emailing the realtor about a property that was just two blocks from the Reagan home and a subway stop from his engine company. All of a sudden everything became real to the young soon to be father. He turned white as a sheet and fidgeted with the button on his collar.

Jamie noticed the look on his son in law's face, clearing his throat.

"Hey Steven let's make some more tea for everyone." Standing up, Jamie patted Steve's shoulder, leading him into the kitchen.

As Jamie got the pot out filling it with water he watched the young man fidget out of the corner of his eye. Jamie knew it had to be hard on the kid, not having his father to give him some support and guidance.

"You okay, Steve? Are you getting nervous?"

Steve looked up somewhat surprised Jamie could tell how he felt.

"Yeah, I guess it's starting to really hit I'm going to be a father. We're going to be responsible for two lives."

Jamie smiled a soft smile understanding as he felt the same way when Eddie announced she was pregnant with Joe. "I felt the same way when Eddie told me she was pregnant with Joe. It's scary to think another human is depending on you, but trust me, when you hold them in your arms it's a totally different feeling. And remember you're not alone, we're here to help."

"I was raised that when you get married, your family is your responsibility…" '

"Yes," Jamie replied. "But Lila isn't any less my responsibility because she is grown and married, just like your children will still be just that when they are ready to branch off have families of their own. Remember, you are a Reagan now just as much as you are a Tenney. If you don't feel comfortable with the lesson of your father, you can take your lessons from mine."

Steven smiled, he felt better. "Jamie, if…If I run into trouble knowing what to do, with Lila or the kids…"

"You come to me same as Joe would," Jamie assured him. "And if you're comfortable enough with it, you've grown on me enough that you can call me Dad and of course, Eddie has wanted you to call her Mom for sometime."

Steven smiled, "I appreciate that, Dad…"

Jamie patted Steven on the back lightly, hoping that he's been able to soothe the younger man's fears as his own father should do. Jamie made a note in his phone to have Detective Meyers call Joshua Tenney and arrange a sit down, it was time this was resolved, father to father.

 **A/N: Yes, I am going to make everyone wait until the big day to find out about the twins. We will experience that wondrous day with Lila and Steven first hand. To all the moms out there, hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day. I hope this fluffy little chapter didn't disappoint. Special thanks to Werks for her assistance with this chapter especially surrounding the beginnings of the baby buying binge the female Reagans will no doubt be beginning.**

 **Next update, May 10** **th** **– The Reagan women go shopping for Eddie's Policeman's Ball gown and Jamie has a few words for Joshua Tenney.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"Mom, come on out!" Lila encouraged as she, Erin, Linda, and Eddie shopped for Eddie's gown to the Policeman's Ball. They had already purchased several new outfits for Eddie to wear everyday and now it was gown time. So far, Linda had just made purchase of a stunning one shoulder sequin gown with a bow ornament, now it was Eddie's turn. Erin planned to wear a dress she wore to lecture in San Francisco.

"Yes, Eddie, let us see," Linda encouraged.

Since changing her medications Eddie's 5'2" frame had gone from being 127lbs to 151 lbs. She hated how she looked in sweats let alone a gown. Erin and Linda helped her select age appropriate gowns with A-lines or empire waists.

Finally Eddie opened the door and stepped out in an emerald green empire waist gown with a gold chain belt under the bust line. Lila gasped and smiled, "Oh Mom…You look so pretty."

"I look pregnant," Eddie griped. "Erin you should go with Jamie to the ball this year."

"Mom, Aunt Erin is already taking grandpa's chair, you know that," Lila sighed. "I am staying with Grandpa…"

Erin and Linda looked over Eddie, "Actually, I agree with you Eddie. I think that you look heavier than you are in that. Let's try an A-line dress. This one is really pretty, the teal."

Erin offered Eddie the dress, "Try this on I think it will be more flattering."

Eddie went back in the fitting room. "She's so self-conscious now," Lila sighed. "I never remember Mom being like that, she was always the one to say be proud of who you are, it's a gift."

"I know it's not coming from Jamie," Erin replied. "He loves her so much it hurts to watch him. They have something very special, he sees right past all of that."

Lila smiled, "I know that. I love their marriage, I love watching them. It's my goal for me and Steven and so far…He's really been pretty incredible."

"How's his family doing?" Linda asked. "I know there were fireworks but nothing since then. You two never mention them."

"They haven't come around," Lila replied. "After that night Steven talked to his father and they had a pretty big battle. Steven said we don't need the stress but Dad is having lunch with Joshua today trying to broker peace."

Eddie stepped out of dressing room for the third time, this time in the teal A-line gown. The V-neck flattered her bust line and the textured bodice hid the areas Eddie was sensitive about. Erin smiled, "That is perfect. You look elegant. Jamie will have to be on his toes to keep the other men off your tail."

"You exaggerate," Eddie replied. "But it's comfortable on my arm and I don't look like I belong in the circus. It's a keeper."

Lila smiled, "I'll get the alterations person and she can hem it up. You'll be the belle of the ball."

After Eddie's dress was pinned and she got her copy of the claim form the women headed for the food court to satisfy Lila's Indian Thai fusion craving and Eddie's self-imposed rabbit food diet. "I am going to lose at least twenty pounds before the babies come."

Linda nodded, "It's a good goal if you want it, Eddie but you have to be careful. You need a rounded diet to make sure you get all your nutrients. It's not you, it's the pills and believe me we would rather you be a little overweight than dead or dying."

"Amen to that," Erin declared. "My brother won't make a year if something happened to you. He would literally die of a broken heart."

Eddie smiled, she would too, she and Jamie loved each other so much. She never doubted their love, just her ability to continue being a good asset to him.

Across town, Jamie and Joshua Tenney were sitting face to face at Spark's steakhouse. Jamie ordered a salad with shrimp, Joshua ordered a steak and au gratin potatoes. "Thank you for meeting me, Joshua. I know that we aren't your favorite people by any means and I'm sorry for that but our children are married and expecting twins so I'd like for us to bury the hatchet between our two families once and for all."

Joshua sighed, "It's nothing against Lila, she's a lovely girl and Steven is happy with her. That's all any parent really wants, their children to be happy."

"At least we agree on that," Jamie replied. "But your son isn't happy. He's very sad. He's about to embark on a magnificent event, becoming a father and his own mother and father aren't there to share that with him."

"Steven knows our position, his mother and I both feel that neither he nor Lila are ready to become parents to one baby, let alone two babies."

"Well as my wife put it, ready or not, here they come," Jamie took a bit of his lunch. "Let's face it, Josh, are you really ever ready for kids? Eddie and I tried three years to have our Joey and I was still scared to death. The bigger she got, the more frightened I became."

"I was nervous about our kids too, but we were a little older than they are now and we had a little more money…You are going to help then, that's admirable, but it's not the same as doing it on your own."

Jamie agreed, "No it's not, but I think it goes deeper. You aren't in a financial position to help your son and you hold my father responsible for that. Your beef, as my brother Danny would put it, is with him not with Steven and Lila but they are bearing the brunt of it. There's nothing I can do to correct that except to help Steven and Lila and I will do that, but that grudge is only hurting you and Steven, believe me."

"It's more than that, we honestly feel that they are making very poor choices, they should have been more responsible."

"Well, they either felt they were ready for a family or they did make a mistake, but there are two innocent lives inside of my daughter and I do not and will not have her stressed or upset by this rift in the family so here's how it's going to go…You and Maura are either going to accept this and make up with Steven at least on the surface for the time being, or prepare to cut ties with him and end this ridiculous limbo. Your boy is scared, he needs a father's guidance. I am fully prepared to give that to him but I know he'd rather it be you, I know that's your preference too. I know what it's like to fight with your children, I know how much it hurts. It's time to fix this."

Joshua's face turned dark, "What would you know about it? You have only ever had a picture perfect family."

Jamie straightened, "I know a lot, and that comment proves you don't know much about the family your son married into. My wife had a double radical mastectomy when Lila was four years old, our Joey was only seven and that kid hasn't been the same since. My wife cried that night, the night of the argument and I was surprised that you and Maura were still in one piece considering the way Joey is with his Mom. In fact, I only remember Joe ever speaking out to his mother once, the night he and I had a feud very much like the one you're having with Steven now."

 **"How could you!"**

 **Jamie looked up from his chair, surprised to see Joe walking towards him with his hands balled up in fists.**

 **"What's wrong, Joe?" Jamie asked, folding the paper so he could give Joey his full attention.**

 **"You know what! You cut the budget knowing I was due for a raise. You don't think I deserve a raise then tell me."**

 **Jamie sighed, hoping it wouldn't back to bite him in the ass but the mayor gave him no choice. It was either cut his training or freeze wages and benefits. "Joe, I had to freeze wages! Of course you deserve a raise. What I did had nothing to do with you, Son."**

 **Joe continued glaring at his father, feeling his Reagan temper rising. "You never got a break on anything because grandpa so you don't think I should! First my promotion gets nailed when you become the high and mighty police commissioner, now my raise! I suppose if I get a rip I'm hung out to dry too!" Joey knocked over a kitchen chair making Jamie jump and Eddie step into the fray.**

 **"Joe, I know you're upset but don't talk to your father like that," admonished Eddie walking in hearing the fight. "You might not agree with what he had to do, but you owe him respect."**

 **Joey turned and glared at his mother, feeling a strong sense of betrayal. She had always taken up for him, now she was defending Jamie. Joey's eyes stung, "I might be your son, I might be stuck being a Reagan, but I don't have to like it and I don't have to come around where I'm not respected. I've been the speck of dirt on your shoe for years, why would I think it would be different now!"**

 **Joey left out the side door letting it slam in his wake. Eddie looked at Jamie, disheartened but not surprised to see tears running down his cheeks.**

"Not long after that I had my stroke," Jamie explained. "Joey and I were able to talk things out and now we have a very good, strong relationship. He's grown up, he's a good son, and I have no fear that if I weren't around, Eddie would be taken care of."

Joshua granted that Jamie had a point. "I'll call Steven, we'll start out and see where it leads. I can't promise anything, except I won't involve Lila or your family in our difficulties, at least not directly."

Jamie nodded, "If your feud affects my family like it did before our next conversation won't be over a beer and a steak, I can promise you that."

Joshua nodded again before finishing his meal and taking his leave. Jamie hoped that his words resonated with the other father. He did not want to see any parent child relationship strained, he'd done all he could now to try to reason with Steven's father. Now all he could do was be there for the kids and hope that was enough.

 **A/N: Jamie finally spoke up to Joshua, if only one stubborn Irishman could get through to another. Jamie's getting there but he is still no Frank and he's certainly no Henry. Poor Eddie, many anticancer medications cause significant swelling and weight gain. Often for cancer patients, it's the lesser of two evils, allow yourself to gain weight, sometimes to the point of being obese and all the health problems that can cause or roll the dice on the likelihood of recurrence. The word remission is to be celebrated, but it does not mean you are "done" with the disease.**

 **Next updated – May 12** **th** **– Lila and Steve are let loose it the baby store…will Grandpa's wallet survive.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"This is going to be so much fun!" said Lila as they walked hand-in-hand towards Babies-R-Us.

"I think this is going to be a lot of hard work!" They had started to select items for their registry on line but Lila and Eddie both insisted they had to go to the story to do it properly. They were going to spend the afternoon registering for baby gifts, and Steven had a feeling that it wasn't going to be quite as much fun as Lila was envisioning, but he was still quite excited.

"How will it be hard work?" Lila asked Steven.

"Lila, we've been in here before to buy gifts for other people's kids and the place is huge!" answered Steven. "They've got 15 different models of everything, more than that of some things, and it's pretty overwhelming."

"It can be, yes," replied Lila. "But not if you've done your own research and you know what to look for. We did all that already, so relax."

"Well, that makes me feel better," said Steven as they neared the service desk. They sat down at the service desk, and an employee came over to help them

"Hi, welcome to Babies-R-Us," she said. "Are you starting a gift registry today?"

"Yes, we are. What do we need to do?" Lila asked. She massaged her belly with one hand and held Steven's with the other.

"I'll need to get some information from you to put into the computer," said the employee behind the counter. "And then I'll explain to you how the registry works and you can get started."

"Okay, great," said Lila glad that Steven had agreed to come with her for this special moment.

"Alright, what is your first name?" she asked.

"Lila"

"Last name?"

"Tenney"

"Your due date?"

"September 9th," Lila replied. They were past the half way mark already. She was every bit as excited as she was nervous.

"Would you like the father's name on here also, that way folks can search under either name?"

"Definitely"

"Okay, his first name?"

"Steven."

"Last name?"

"The same, Tenney," Lila replied thinking it was a sad state of affairs that so many people did this with two last names for reasons that had nothing to do with identity or profession. Steven didn't mind it, to each their own was his thought.

"Do you have a theme picked out for the nursery, or any info that folks may find helpful in choosing a gift for your baby, colors you really like, etc.…?"

"Hmmm…. well, it's twins so we need double the stuff. We don't know what we're having, so neutral colors would be best."

The girl behind the desk entered the last bit of Steven and Lila's information into the computer, and handed them a scanner gun. "Have you used one of these before?" she asked them.

"No, never," said Steven as he looked at it with great curiosity. Lila had done the wedding registry herself, and this gun was very different than the ones he had used at the grocery store.

"Well, it's very simple. All you do is choose an item you want to place on your registry, and scan the barcode on the shelf with this. The item number will appear in the screen, and you'll be asked to enter the quantity desired. Once you do that, press enter, and move onto the next item, it's really easy."

"I'm sure between the two of us, we can figure it out," said Lila, laughing a bit at the way Steven was mesmerized by the scanner. She knew he was sheltered but this was a little much and that was saying something coming from the Reagans.

"You're all set then, just let any one of us know if we can help you with anything."

"We will, thank you," Steven replied flashing a winning smile at her. "Okay babe, where do we start?" he asked Lila as they left the service desk.

"Let's start with the smaller things and work our way up," she suggested. "We already know our stroller and car seat so that part will be easy."

"So over there with the bibs and such I guess?' asked Steven.

"That's fine, yeah," said Lila, and they walked in that direction.

"You know what you want, so you need to go ahead of me and point it out so I can scan it," said Steven.

"Oh, and just who says you get to do the scanning?" asked Lila with a teasing intonation to her voice.

"Isn't that how it works - the mother picks everything out and the father scans it?" said Steven, teasing her back.

"No, Smokey, it's not 'how it works at all, but since it's so important to you, you can have the dubious honor of scanning each and every single little thing I choose."

"Thanks, my love," said Steven, thoroughly enjoying himself. "And Smokey?"

Lila shrugged with a giggle, then started eyeballing the wall with the bibs on it. "Two of each of those….those….that one…a couple of those…. oh, this one is too cute, two of that," she said, referring to a white bib with a yellow teddy bear on it.

"Are we really going to need that many bibs?" asked Steven. "I know we're having twins but we've got enough bibs chosen here to go around a football team!"

"Spoken like a man who's never been around a baby!" laughed Lila. "You have no idea how many bibs we'll go through in a day, babe. Besides, we'll need some to leave at my parents' house.

"I'll take your word for it," said Steven as he shook his head. They were about to move away from the bibs when he spotted one _he_ really liked.

"Oh, we've got to have this one, Lila" he said, pointing to a white terry-cloth bib with blue gingham trim and a firetruck on it.

Lila chuckled, "Sure, we can add that one if you like it, that's fine." Steven scanned the barcode beneath the firetruck bib, entered "2" for quantity, and caught up with Lila, who was already on the next aisle over.

"Wow, Lila, I had no idea there were this many baby bottles to choose from!" said Steven as he got a look at the endless rows of bottles. All different shapes, sizes, colors, styles - it was almost unreal. "Do you know what you want?"

"Yep, these," she said, picking up a Playtex Nurser set. "I did a ton of research on which ones are best to use while breastfeeding, and these were always on the list."

"Really? Wonder why?" asked Steven.

"They're supposed to very closely resemble breastfeeding, so the baby doesn't have a hard time switching back and forth," Lila explained. "Plus I'll be able to pump and freeze milk into the liners that go in these, which will make it easy for whoever ends up making the bottles - just thaw it out and pop it in."

"That'll be me or your mother, so I'm all for easy. Which ones do you want and how many?"

"Let me see, two of the boxed sets, four of the 4 ounce ones, two of the 8 ounce ones…" said Lila.

"What about extra pieces and parts" asked Steven.

"Umm… 4 packages of newborn size nipples, 4 packages of the next size up, and….. 4 boxes of 4 ounce liners," said Lila. "That should get us started."

"I think it will," Steven laughed. "What about these?" he asked, pointing to the breast pumps.

"I'm still deciding on that. I think I'll talk to my Mom about that more. She had two different kinds, one she said hurt a lot," Lila explained. "We'll probably just end up buying that ourselves once I choose one."

"You're the one who has to be happy with it, I have no say in that one at all!"

"Well, if you had any thoughts on it, I'd of course listen, but somehow I can't see you comparing breast pumps and shopping around for one with all the important features, so I'll reserve that for a day when you're on duty."

Steven laughed a bit, "Well, no, but if you do want any help with it, just say the word."

"I know, babe, you're so good to me," replied Lila as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

They proceeded from there to the strollers and car seats. Steven was pleased to find the one they chose online had an adjustable handle that would accommodate Lila's short stature and his more ample height.

"We need two extra bases for the car seat, one for your car and one to put in Mom's car," Lila told him as Steven examined the seat.

"Oh, good. This has the five point harness that is much more secure than the shoulder strap, we made a good choice here."

They spent 4 hours walking through the store, carefully choosing everything from bibs and bottles to a crib and dresser. The most confusing item of all proved to be the crib bedding. Steven was adamant on each baby having it's one theme, especially if the twins were not identical. "Steven, the babies will share a room, we can pick one for now and when they start to develop personalities, we can change their bedding to be specific to that."

Lila pointed to a brightly colored comforter set with baby jungle animals on it, "I like this one."

"It'd be fine for a boy, but not a girl," said Steven. "What about this one?" He pointed to a light denim comforter with primary colored balloons on it.

"I think that'd be good for a girl, but not a boy" said Lila with a little laugh. "We're not having much luck here!"

"We'll find something. There are only about a hundred of these things to choose from here." They continued looking, each of them disliking everything the other one chose, until Steven spotted one that was just perfect.

"Hey, what about this Pooh one?" he asked, pointing to a white comforter with a scene on it comprised of Pooh and all his friends having a picnic in the Hundred Acre Wood.

"Oh, I love it!" said Lila, "And it'll be great for either a boy or a girl!"

"Hallelujah, we've done it!" joked Steven as he scanned the Pooh bedding set. From there they chose some blankets, bath towels and the like, and then it was time to look at clothes, which again would be a challenge.

"How totally adorable!" squealed Lila as she picked up a tiny little pink sleeper with a kitten on it.

"We can't register for that, Lila," said Steven.

"Sure we can," said Lila. "We're having two babies, we have a good shot at getting at least one girl!"

"We've got just as good a chance as getting two boys. And it goes without saying that no son of ours is going to wear _that_!"

"Tell you what," said Lila. "How about we each pick 1 thing for a boy and 1 for a girl, and the rest will be gender neutral? If we have one of each, we are set. If we have two girls Mom or Dad can exchange the boy outfit for another girl one or vice versa."

"Okay, I guess that'll work" said Steven. "We'll just keep the tags on everything we get until after the baby is born, and we'll return what we can't use."

"We wouldn't _have_ to return it" said Lila. "We could just pack it away and…." her voice trailing off into silence.

"… and what, Lila?" asked Steven.

"…and use it for the next baby."

Steven stood there speechless. They were barely ready for the two that were coming, at least he didn't think they were ready.

"You want a big family?" Steven asked.

Lila stopped, "Why? You don't want more children in the future?

"Lila, we can have two children or ten, I'll be happy just as long as you are their mother." He gently leaned down to kiss her.

Lila smiled and brushed away a tear. "I love you so much, Steven."

"I love you too, Lila, and you two as well," he added, putting his hand on her tummy. "Let's finish up here and go to the grocery store, I'll make us something special for dinner."

"That sounds great, I'm getting hungry."

"Does our child have any special menu requests tonight?" joked Steven, referring to the many times Lila has craved a certain food and blamed it on the baby.

"No, not tonight," Lila replied shaking her head. "It's daddy's choice."

Steven smiled, he just loved that word. " _Daddy"._

 **A/N: I apologize for any typos that I might have missed I am preparing this for posting with a fever so I might not have caught all of the mistakes. This chapter was very fluffy preparing us for some bumpy chapters ahead. I am doing my best to add more family members to the story, but this one was just for our parents to be. I'd love to hear from you, I have noticed views and reviews both are less, I hope I am still holding interest.**

 **Next Up – May 14 – Frank and Lila encounter some trouble while home together during the Policeman's Ball and must rely on the now familiar Indian food delivery drive for help.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Eddie came downstairs in the gown she selected with Lila, Linda, and Erin. Her golden hair was swept up in a twist and her make up perfectly applied. Jamie was waiting in his dress uniform at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, Eddie," he sighed. "Oh baby, you look so beautiful."

Eddie smiled and reached for Jamie's hand, "Thank you…You don't look so bad either Commissioner Reagan." Eddie leaned up and dropped a kiss on his lips.

"You two look so great!" Lila gushed taking several pictures on her phone. "You go have a fabulous time, don't worry about Grandpa, he and I are going to make lasagna and play Gin rummy." Lila hugged her Mom and Dad as the babies tumbled and kicked inside of her. "You saying bye bye to Grandpa and Grandma?"

Eddie smiled, "You take it easy all right?" She ran a gentle hand over Lila's swollen belly.

"I will, Mom, don't worry. You two have a good time."

Arm in arm Jamie and Eddie headed off to the ball while Lila sat down on the couch next to Frank. "So you want to make lasagna or call out for Indian?"

Frank laughed, "I'll just get my wallet, you order what you want and get me that chicken."

"You always did let me have anything I wanted," Lila replied. "I'm so glad you are feeling better and Mom is feeling better. I can't believe I only have fifteen weeks before these babies come."

"You getting nervous?" Frank asked. "Because you don't have to be, you know we are all going to be there for you no matter what."

"I know, Steven's Dad finally called him last week. He said they want us to call them when I go into labor and his Mom is interested in being at the shower, so…"

"Oh that's big of them," Frank rolled his eyes. "They are letting a grudge against me steal this moment from Steven and that…" Frank tapped his fingers on the end of his chair.

"Steven is fine with things like they are. We just want to enjoy the rest of the pregnancy and prepare for our family. When you and Grandma were going to have Uncle Danny, were you really obsessive about things like childbirth class and stuff?"

"No," Frank replied quickly. "Your Grandma thought that men had no place in those things, she and your Grandma Betty did things in the old Irish Catholic way and everything was fine. I was there when your Dad came. He was the tiniest of all my kids, even smaller than Aunt Erin."

"Mom said she was small too, I was small…These babies will be small…I hope," Lila laughed.

"You'll do fine," Frank laughed. "Order our dinner."

Lila placed their food order while Frank did his medicine without being asked. He didn't want a spell to upset his granddaughter.

Meanwhile, in a ballroom in Manhattan, the rest of the Reagan clan was gathered for the Policeman's ball. Jamie held Eddie's arm as they stood with the Mayor and other city officials on the receiving line.

"You look lovely, Mrs. Reagan," said the wife of a newly elected councilman. "That dress is so flattering."

Eddie smiled, she felt ugly and fat especially with so many of the younger ladies around her. "Thank you so much," Eddie replied with a smile. She looked up at Jamie, "Almost over honey," he whispered. "Then you can sit down for a little bit. I'm dancing with my wife tonight though."

"You bet," Eddie whispered as Joey and Molly came down the line. "Oh my goodness," Eddie smiled at Molly in a royal blue halter gown. "You are so pretty, I love that dress."

"Are we at your table?" Molly asked. She was shy and this crowd was a little intimidating for her.

"Oh yes, with Jack and Rita, Danny and Linda too," Eddie assured her. "Go and get a drink, we'll be over soon."

Joey kissed his mother's hand, "You look great Mom. Just like in your wedding picture…"

"You are a very bad liar, Joseph Patrick," Eddie laughed. "But thank you anyway."

Thirty boring minutes later, Danny escorted both Linda and Eddie to their seats. Jamie had a few more hands to shake but being on her feet was getting tiring for Eddie. Linda ordered them each a Blood Mary, "It's a special occasion, the two of us out with our men, Erin is actually here with a date…all is right in the world. Rita, how is the wedding planning going?"

"It's good. I was going to ask if you want to come with my mom and me when we go to pick out the dress. You always look so put together, I'd love your opinion."

Eddie smiled, it seemed that it was easier to be the mother of the groom than the mother of the bride. She hoped to have that experience soon. She watched Joey with Molly, and believed in her heart he had found his soulmate.

Jamie finally appeared just as the salad came, "Sorry, I could not get away from the Phillip's wife, she loves to gossip and thinks I love to hear everyone's business."

Jamie ordered a drink and relaxed at a table full of family. He didn't like these busy social events, it was, like his father before him, his least favorite part of being commissioner.

"Hey Lila," Frank called. "Honey, I don't have enough cash in my wallet and they are cash only. Do you have any?" Frank's COPD was limiting his strolls to the cash machine that week, the weather was changing and the Brooklyn air becoming more humid.

Lila checked her purse, "No, Mom has a stash upstairs. She won't mind if I put it back," Lila replied. 

Lila headed up the steps to get the money just as the headlights of the delivery car appeared in the driveway. As Lila searched her mother's jewelry box, the doorbell rang. Frank got up and headed for the door, "Hi, my granddaughter is getting the money, she'll be right down."

"Coming Grandpa," Lila called retrieving the money and heading downstairs. As Lila reached the last four steps, the back part of her clog shoe shifted and caused her ankle to turn sideways. Lila reached for the bannister with both hands to catch herself, however the quick movement knocked her off balance causing her to fall hard on her back and slide down the three remaining steps.

Frank heard Lila cry out before she hit the last step. He turned and with the delivery man, who was now on a first name basis with most of the members in the house, ran to where Lila lay on her side holding her belly. "Stay still, did you hit your belly?"

Lila was crying so hard she wasn't able to answer her grandpa. "Lila, sweetie pie, you have to try to breath and answer me. Did you hit your belly?"

Finally she shook her head, "My back…" she sobbed. "Grandpa…my babies…"

Frank thought about calling a bus but it would be faster if they went with the delivery man. "Gurav, is it? I'll call your boss and explain personally but I need you to drive us to Lutheran hospital."

"Oh yes, sir, for Miss Lila," was the fast reply. "I can help…" The thin but muscular boy lifted Lila and hurried with her to the car with Frank hot on his heels, the delivery food now forgotten.

"This next song goes out to Commissioner and Mrs. Reagan, a special request by the Commissioner."

The strains of Kenny Rogers, Through the Years began to play. Jamie stood and led Eddie out on to the dance floor pulling her close to him. "We have our song," he whispered. "But this one means more I think. I can't remember a time when I didn't love you."

Eddie's eyes misted over as she laid her head on his chest. "I love you," she whispered. "I'm sorry I've been…"

"Ssh," Jamie whispered as Danny and Linda joined them on the dance floor followed by Jack and Rita and Joey and Molly. Soon most of the married or engaged officers and detectives had joined their commissioner and his wife, not one couple, with maybe the exception of Danny and Linda as much in love as Jamie and Eddie were in that moment. They had no idea what was going on back at their house, each was to wrapped up in the perfection of the moment.

When the music ended, Jamie bent and placed a soft kiss on Eddie's lips. Joey came to escort his mother back to her chair once Molly was seated, it was time for Jamie's speech. This was Eddie's favorite part, she loved to hear him talk and see him enjoy his success.

As Jamie began to speak at the hall, Gurav pulled up to the ER at Lutheran Hospital with his precious cargo. He ran inside to get a nurse while Frank tried his best to console Lila. "It's all right sweet girl, Poppa's going to make it all right." She had called him Poppa when she was very little.

Gurav reappeared with a team of nurses and stretcher for Lila. Slowly the team of medical professionals placed the still crying Lila on the stretched and hurried her inside. "Set up IV access and page OB. How far along is she?"

"Uh, six months or so…She's due in September…" Frank couldn't quite remember Lila's due date but he did remember the phone number to the hall where the ball was held every year. "Excuse me, I need to use a phone. I have to call my son and get the father's phone number."

The nurse handed Frank the phone from the desk and got him an outside line. With shaking hands he dialed the hotel, "This is Former Commissioner Frank Reagan, I need Detective Meyers from the Policeman's Ball right away and I will hold for her."

"Grandpa!" Lila was calling as the doctor came to examine her. "Where's my grandpa?"

Frank sighed, he'd go to her in just a minute. "Hello, Detective Meyers," came the greeting.

"Meyers, it's Frank Reagan. I need you to get to Jamie or Eddie and tell them to come down to Lutheran Hospital ER, Lila fell, and tell them we need the smoke eater forthwith."

Meyers heart caught in her throat, her sister lost a baby after a fall on the pool steps last year. "I'll get him, he's just finishing his speech."

"Thank you, just have them come down, I think that Lila might need them." The call ended, Frank hurried over to the cubical where Lila was. "Grandpa, it hurts, I'm scared."

"I know you are, honey. I called the ball and your parents and Steven will be here soon. Hold tight to my hand. The doctor is going to be here soon." Frank stroked Lila's forehead kissing her head as they waited.

Detective Meyers was waiting for Jamie when he finished his speech. He saw her sign and headed off the podium among thunderous applause in her direction. "Sir, your father called. You and Mrs. Reagan are needed at Lutheran hospital, your daughter fell. He asked for us to escort her husband."

Jamie nodded, "Dispatch a unit from the 6-5 to his Engine Company and call my detail. We'll be leaving in five minutes."

Eddie knew something was wrong as soon as she saw Jamie hurrying towards her. His limp was very exaggerated when he moved quickly and he didn't do it often especially in public. Eddie stood up and hurriedly meet him half way so he wouldn't fall, "Jamie, what's wrong?"

"We have to go, the detail is out front. Lila fell and Dad took her to Lutheran hospital ER," Jamie told Eddie nearly breathless. "Get your purse and have Jack make our excuses, come on."

Eddie hurried back to the table, "Jack, your uncle wants you to make excuses for us. Lila fell and Dad took her to the hospital. We have to go."

Danny and Linda also rose to join then followed by Erin, Joey, and Molly. Eddie held up her hand, "No, we'll attract attention leaving as it is. Leave a little after we do in shifts and meet us, if something horrible has happened I don't want Lila to have any unwanted media attention."

Linda quickly nodded and gave Eddie a hug, "Tell her we love her."

Eddie took her bag and with Jamie quickly departed for the hospital hoping and praying when they arrived they would find their daughter and their grandchildren in good health.

 **A/N: The review syncing issue has hindered my ability to reply to your reviews as I like to do. I realize some of you found the last chapter a little dull because it only involved Steven and Lila. One of my Guest reviewers mentioned they liked angst, the next few chapters will have that, no worries. In fact, most of this series is dramatic and angsty after this installment with the exception of Jamie and Eddie's post retirement vacation. I will begin taking requests for their destination(s) now. For those that mentioned they prefer chapters with the whole family, I just finished a later chapter and it contains all the Reagans. This story is written ahead, so I do not adjust chapters based on reviews, sorry about that.**

 **Next update – May 16 – The family gathers at the hospital to support Lila and Steven.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"There's Baby A," the OB resident on call informed the worried mother to be as they listened to a strong, steady heartbeat. "And there…Is Baby B….They both sound all right, nice and strong."

"Oh thank God," Lila sobbed. She had been crying for an hour out of pain and fear, those tears quickly changed to tears of relief as Frank held her close.

"You see, I told you, Angel," Frank soothed as they listened to the music and heard a voice in the waiting area. "Lila Tenney, she's my wife. She's pregnant."

"I'll go get him," Frank told Lila and headed to the admissions desk. "Steven, in here…They're all right. All three of them."

Steven pushed Frank aside and hurried to his wife. "Lil, baby are you okay?

She sniffled, "Oh, Steven, I was so scared. I didn't even realize I was going to fall until I was halfway and then I tried but I lost my balance."

Lila babbled this story as Jamie and Eddie arrived at the hospital finding Frank leaning against the nurses' desk. "Are they okay, where's _my_ baby?" Eddie asked wanting nothing more than to comfort her daughter.

"They played the babies heartbeats and they are fine. They think Lila is too, just some bumps and bruises. Steven just got here, give them a few minutes."

Eddie nodded and held onto Jamie, both grateful for the good report. 'What happened exactly, Dad?" Jamie asked after a few minutes.

"Well, we ordered Indian and I was short a few dollars so Lila went upstairs to where Eddie keeps a stash of money. The bell rang and I went to get the door. Next thing I know she's crying out for me and she's on her back across the bottom steps. She had to have slipped but I didn't tell her to hurry or anything, I didn't…"

Jamie let Eddie go and rubbed Frank's back, "I know you didn't. It's all right. Are you okay? You're wheezing. Let's go sit down, Eddie can wait and go in when Lila and Steven are finished."

"What happened, honey?" Steven asked as the doctor finished the internal exam pronouncing the pregnancy had not been adversely effected by the fall.

"I fell on the steps, I was just getting money from Mom's box upstairs and I slipped."

Steven sighed and nodded. He would address this with her when she was home and out of danger of losing their twins. She spent too much time caring for her parents and her grandfather and not enough time working at making their children.

After ten minutes, Eddie slowly peaked behind the privacy curtain, "Can I come in?"

Lila smiled at seeing her mother, and nodded. Steven stepped back to allow Eddie to get closer to Lila. Eddie stroked her daughter's hair back and kissed her red cheeks, "How are you feeling?"

Lila sniffled, "I'm okay now that I know my babies are all right," Lila replied. "My back and side hurt where I landed."

Eddie smiled sympathetically, "Dad is out in the waiting room with Grandpa, Joey and Molly just got here. What did the doctor say?"

"Nothing other than to take it easy for a few days," Lila replied. "And with these bruises it won't be a problem. Grandpa hijacked the Indian food guy to drive us here. Is he okay? I know stress…"

"He's fine, he's sitting with Dad," Eddie kissed Lila's head. "Why don't I send Dad and Joey back now and I'll go sit with Grandpa."

"Eddie, I'd prefer that Lila rest and see everyone else tomorrow. She's fine thank God but it was a trauma and…"

"Yes, it was a trauma," Eddie replied. "And that's all the more reason that we all should be supportive of Lila and what makes her comfortable and happy."

Steven let it go and didn't argue about Jamie and Joey coming back. Jamie hugged her tight when he stepped behind the curtain and Joey joked, "Here is the fifty dollars I owe you for getting us out of that place."

Lila laughed, "We said $150 big brother."

Joey kissed her cheek, "Seriously, you okay?"

Lila nodded, "We're okay. I'm sorry I scared everyone and had to pull you all away. Grandpa really had everything under control."

"Well, your Grandpa has always been a solver," Jamie replied. "But he is really exhausted so I'm thinking we'll head for home and leave Mom behind. Steven, can you make sure Eddie gets home all right?"

"Uh, they are going to keep Lila until morning and I plan to stay. I don't see there's any reason to have Eddie stay. I'll call you when we get home and you can come see how we're doing."

Jamie did not like the change in Steven's demeanor. His son-in-law was normally very supportive of Lila's close knit relationship with them but there was a marked edge to his tone now. Jamie was nothing if not adept at reading people, "All right, even better that they both get their rest. Please let us know when Lila is at home, Eddie will be worried."

Steven nodded and shook Jamie's hand as they headed back to the waiting room.

"What the hell was that, Dad?" Joey asked as they let Lila and Steven behind. "He better not have a problem with Mom visiting with Lila because…"

"Settle down, Joey," Jamie soothed. "I'm sure Steven is just as scared as the rest of us were tonight. She was taking care of grandpa when she fell, he's just jumpy. Relax, don't let it rile you up."

"Everything seems to be okay here," Molly told them after quickly monitoring Frank. "But I do think he needs to go home and get his medications."

"We're all going home," Jamie told Eddie. "Danny, would you ask Sean if he would stop by the apartment tomorrow and check on Lila. I think she'll have more peace of mind hearing from him that she's fine than even her own OB."

"Of course I will," Danny replied. "You want us to crash at your place tonight and look after Dad?" Danny whispered. "So you and Eddie can get some rest?"

"No, I'm sure we'll be fine, Danny, but maybe tomorrow can you take him for a belt and some new shoes. I have a feeling there are going to be some rough feelings expressed tomorrow and I don't want him stressed again. Steven is showing some anger towards the family."

Danny nodded, "You got it, Kid."

Soon the waiting room was devoid of Reagans. Eddie was upset that she had to go home, she wanted to stay. "I am not an invalid, Jamison Reagan! I am feeling much better now and I don't…"

"Eddie, it was Steven's request that he and Lila be alone, I'm not doing this because I feel like you can't," Jamie explained as they entered the house. Things were slightly askew from the events earlier that night. "Leave it for now, we can straighten up tomorrow. You go on to bed, I'll make sure Dad is set up."

Eddie kissed Jamie and climbed the very steps her daughter had fallen on hours earlier. Jamie helped Frank to bed and secured his oxygen, then started his nebulizer. Frank was wheezing pretty badly, "You want me to stay down here with you tonight, Dad? You don't sound so good?"

Frank shook his head, "I'm good…just missed a dose. Go to bed…I'm sorry, Jamie."

"Stop apologizing, Dad. Lila will be fine, the babies are fine, everything is okay. There's nothing to be sorry for, all right?"

Frank nodded, focusing on his breathing and his medication, offering a prayer of thanksgiving that nothing horrible happened that night.

Lila slept well at the hospital, she was exhausted from the stress of the evening and medication given to help her relax. Steven sat by her side the entire night, leaving only to call his command to update his Captain and take the day off. Lila stirred about six am to Steven watching her.

"Hey," she whispered sleepily.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

"A little achy but okay. The babies are both kicking a lot, come feel." Steven smiled and approached putting his hand on Lila's belly. "I'm sorry, Steven. I just went to get some money…my shoe fell off and I…"

"You should have been home, honey," Steven sighed. "We'll talk about it at home. I took today off to make sure you're resting. The doctor will be in soon to discharge you. Are you hungry?"

Lila nodded, so Steven went to find food while they waited for her to be discharged. Dr. Mianni came in to check her around 7:30 then signed the papers for Lila to go home. "My purse is still at my parents, can we stop…"

"I'll go get it later," Steven replied and turned toward their apartment. "I think this is where you need to be for a while, just here at our own house. You going up and downstairs, you're off balance. I do not want you to watch you grandpa anymore."

"Steven it isn't his fault, honey. Please stop looking at me like that and saying these things. I love to be with my family and help with my Grandpa." Lila argued as he steered her into their apartment and set up the couch so she could put her feet up.

Steven sighed, squeezing Lila's hand tightly relieved she and the babies were okay. He had been so scared when the unit from the 6-5 had come to get him. If she hadn't been on the stairs none of them would have been put in danger.

"Lila you shouldn't have been going upstairs and your grandfather should know that. Your family pushes you too much. I know you love them, I know you want to help, but it's just not safe now. You are pregnant, the babies have to be number one."

Lila pushed herself up on her elbows, staring at Steven, very hurt he thought her family wanted anything but the best for her.

"Lila, I don't want you getting mad," Steven said quickly seeing the classic Reagan temper building being her eyes. "All I want is for you and our babies to be safe. I think it's best you just stay home and rest."

"For a few days, all right," Lila agreed. "But I have to take my mother to the doctor next Friday when my Dad is in Albany."

"No," Steven replied firmly. "You aren't going to take her. Linda can take her, Erin can take her…"

"No, I'm taking her Steven, I promised her. This kidney thing is scary for her, when she goes we go shopping for the babies after and make it fun. You can't forbid me from seeing my family, just because you aren't close to your family does not mean that I have to be like that! It's fine that is how your family goes, honey, but it's not how mine goes. Don't ask me to choose Steven!"

Steven sighed, "Lila, this is our family. This is your family now. I was afraid of this when we got married. I was afraid I was disappear into your family."

"You didn't seem to mind when my dad intervened with your father, that's what Reagans do and if it's too much for me they will be here cleaning and cooking and making sure all four of us have everything. Where is your Mom helping me? The mother of her grandchildren? Looking at adoption agencies, that's where your mother is!"

"That was a cheap shot!" Steven snapped. "You want to keep this up, risk our twins?"

Lila put her hand on her belly just as there was a knock at the door. "I told them I'd call!" Steven snapped as he jerked the door open to reveal Sean with his bag and portal ultrasound.

"Seany!" Lila exclaimed hoping her cousin would come by and check up on things. "Good you can convince Steven that I am fine."

Sean stepped past Steven and gave Lila a hug. "What are you doing falling down stairs?" Sean saw her clog shoes on the floor. "Those go, Steven have her get shoes with backs. When you're pregnant, your feet perspire a lot more than normal when you get hot. Likely her foot slipped out of the shoe. Good thing you were on the steps and went down on your back."

Sean began his examination listening to Lila's chest, the babies' hearts, and checking her blood pressure. "It's up a little, so you want you to rest and try to drink some extra water. Any pain or bleeding?"

"My hip hurts and part of my back, but no stomach pains and no bleeding."

"Her doctor examined her," Steven broke in.

"I want to hear Sean," Lila broke in. "He's family, he has a higher stake in this."

Sean ran the portable ultrasound, "Oh, they are active…The babies are doing fine, Steven. See, the one on the bottom there is mooning his or her Dad."

Steven felt his throat close, he almost lost everything he loved last night and if he kept pushing he was going to lose it anyway. "Can we see the other baby again?"

Sean spent twenty minutes showing Lila and Steven their babies. "I'm going to run these images over the house. Uncle Jamie called to see if I would see Grandpa. He's making a funny noise when he's exhaling that's concerning your mother."

"Tell him how much I love him and that we'll have Indian next week. Please tell him it's not his fault," Lila begged.

"No, it's those darn shoes. Tell Aunt Eddie to get you knew shoes." Sean kissed Lila's head and shook Steven's hand.

Lila began crying as soon as Sean was gone. Steven sat on the bed and held her, "I'm sure he'll be okay, honey."

"I am sorry I was on the steps but it wasn't Grandpa's fault. I got to the hospital as fast as I did because of him and it hurts you are making me choose. Please don't make me do that."

Steven sighed, "Promise me if you are tired or not feeling up to snuff that you will make the choice to stay home and I promise that if you are feeling well, you can help your family and I won't say a word."

Lila looked up at Steven touched by his willingness to compromise, "Deal."

Steven dipped his head to Lila's lips and caressed her stomach as he sealed their agreement with a kiss.

 **A/N: Phew…Lila and both babies are fine but what's going on with Frank? Steven was getting a little possessive there, if he did draw a line in the sand where would Lila go?**

 **Next updated – May 18** **th** **– The family begins to face the writing on the wall, Eddie has new to deliver to Lila.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

On Sean's orders, Lila remained home and in bed for two days. Steven took off one additional day, then Eddie came over to attend to her daughter's needs.

"I feel fine, Mom," Lila assured her. "The babies are fine, it was an accident. Fill me in on Grandpa."

Eddie's face turned white. Jamie had spoken with Sean and Steven and the three men had decided over her fervent objections not to let Lila know of her grandfather's state until today. Frank had developed a lung infection and was in the intensive care unit at St. Victor's. The entire family knew Lila would blame herself and want to be at his side, that the worry and the fall together might cause a detrimental early labor.

"Mom, I know that look. What's happened to him?"

Eddie pushed Lila back so she was still lying down. "We took Grandpa to the hospital night before last. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't breathe so Dad called the ambulance. He has pleurisy, there is fluid in the sack around his lungs. He can't breathe on his own very well, he's on a Bi-Pap machine but…he's bad honey."

Lila's throat closed, "Well, I have to go to be with him."

"Not until Dr. Mianni clears you in a few days for so much activity, sweetie," Eddie replied. "That's why we didn't tell you. If things don't turn around and they tell us it's his time then of course we'll bring you over."

"Mom, oh no…I promised him that he'd see these babies, Mom. I promised…"

Eddie sighed and held her daughter, she had spent most of the night holding her husband when he lost it in the privacy of their bedroom. In front of the family, Jamie had been stoic and in total control, even Danny looking to him and at him for direction. Eddie's heart broke remembering those hours in the very early morning…

 **Eddie awoke to the bed moving early that morning after finally getting to sleep. Snuggling under the blanket Eddie tried going back to sleep only to awoke again hearing sobs coming from the bathroom. Throwing the covers back Eddie made her way into the bathroom where she found Jamie kneeling on the floor sobbing, his entire frame shaking.**

 **"Oh Jamie," Eddie rushed to his side pulling her soulmate into a tight hug while Jamie continued sobbing drenching her night shirt with his tears.**

 **"I…can't...dad..." Jamie barely managed to get the sentence out and although it wasn't a complete sentence, Eddie knew Jamie couldn't lose his father.**

 **"Shh, I know take deep breaths for me." Enclosed Jamie enclosed in her arms, she rocked Jamie like a child. "I'm here, I'm here…" She kissed his head and sat back allowing Jamie to lay in her lap until he finished his cry.**

" **What did they say after I left?" Eddie asked when Jamie's breathing returned to a slow, steady rhythm. "And by the way, don't you ever do that to me again, Jamison. If you are going to be at the hospital hearing hard things, I will be at your side."**

 **Jamie sniffled, "You were tired, your back was killing you, I could see. Sending you home with Jack, that was right. You needed rest and I needed you to rest, I need you if…They said with his lungs and oxygenation were so depressed already that this is probably it. They want to keep him in the hospital, keep him comfortable until…but Danny, Erin, and I agree he'd want the medication and a fighting chance so we told them to continue to actively treat the infection."**

 **Eddie stroked Jamie's forehead, "Yeah, that's what he would want I think. What does Sean say?"**

" **That pleurisy is treatable," Jamie relied. "That the COPD complicates everything and that…Dad is going to have a rougher death the way we are doing things."**

" **Jamie, listen to me," Eddie said gently. "This is not something you decide alone, all right? You keep talking to Danny and Erin, but especially to me. You have loved me through so much, let me love you through this."**

"Dad's not handling it so well," Eddie sighed. "He's at work now and he'll go back to the hospital."

"Go be with Dad, Mom," Lila encouraged. "I'll be a good girl and stay in bed. I promise. He needs you."

"He's working, when it's time to go to the hospital, Dad's detail will stop for me and Molly will come to be with you when she is done working. It's all arranged honey."

"Can I call him?" Lila asked.

Eddie sighed, "No, honey. He's unconscious, the doctor's did it to ease his pain. If you want to talk to him, when I visit later I will hold the phone to his ear so you can tell him what you need to tell him, all right angel?"

Lila nodded, tears running down her cheeks. She loved her Grandpa so much, and she knew how it must feel for her father to see his father so ill. Lila remembered keeping a vigil by Jamie's bedside after his stroke, it was torture. Lila pulled out her phone and sent a text to her father, simply saying, "Hi, Daddy – We are all thinking of you. We love you and we are praying for Grandpa." Lila took a selfie showing off her belly and hit send.

For the remainder of the day, Eddie and Lila looked at houses online narrowing the pile of acceptable new dwellings to four. When Jamie was heading back to the hospital, he called Eddie to meet him out front. "You rest, I'll be over on Wednesday to go to Dr. Mianni, if she says all right, we'll go see Grandpa.'

Lila hugged Eddie close, "Tell Dad I love him, give Grandpa kiss for me."

Eddie headed out, Molly would be arriving shortly to stay until Steven got home.

"How are you?" Eddie asked Jamie hugging him tight.

"It was a long day, how did Lila take it?"

"She was upset that she can't be with him, I didn't tell her that they don't think he'll make it through this though. I thought it better…If he does go to just tell her that."

Jamie nodded and took Eddie's hand, "She's all right though. No bad effects?"

"Nope," Eddie replied. "Dr. Mianni will check her again on Wednesday, then if she is allowed I'll take her to see Frank."

The detail dropped the couple off at the hospital. Danny and Linda had been sitting with Frank since noon. He was still in ICU, on the Bi-Pap, looking every one of his ninety-four years in the bed. Jamie sighed, "I never saw my father look small before. Even when he got shot all those years ago, it was hard to see but he looks…"

Eddie rubbed her hand up and down Jamie's back, "I know. Let's see what the doctors had to say okay?"

Danny stood when Jamie came in, "Hey Kid. Dr. Burg was just here and he says Dad's fever is down and his heart rate is stronger, the medication seems to be helping him a little bit."

Jamie smiled and touched Frank's foot through the blanket, "That's good news. Has he been awake?"

"No," Linda replied. "They have him on heavy duty pain medication, later they are going to put a G tube in; they don't want him to lose nutrition being sedated like this. He needs all his strength to fight this thing."

"Oh, he'll hate that," Eddie sighed. "I hated mine, I think I had three or four over the years." Eddie sat down and took Frank's hand in hers. She kissed the cold, withered hand then called Lila so she could say a few special words of love to her grandfather.

For his part, Frank was locked in a world between life and death. At times he could see his Mary, Henry, his boy, Joe…other times he heard Danny, Linda, Jamie, Erin, Eddie…Sean speaking to him telling him he'd be all right, assuring him he would get well. Did he want that at this point? The burning and the crushing weight of each breath made death very appealing, but the desire to hold his newborn great grandchildren made fighting that much more possible.

As Lila spoke, Frank's monitor showed improvement in his heart rate and oxygen levels. Eddie smiled, they wouldn't count the old man out yet.

Days passed with countless family members filtering in and out of Frank's room. Slowly but surely, his vitals continued to improve with steroid therapy, assisted ventilation, and the nutrition from the feeding tube. On Tuesday, the doctors began to lift the heavy sedation to allow Frank to be alert and lucid. Eddie hoped he'd be awake if she was permitted to bring Lila to the hospital.

"How are you feeling, Lila?" Dr. Mianni asked when Eddie brought her to the doctor that Wednesday.

"I am fine, my back hurts less. They babies are moving a lot," Lila said with a huge smile.

"That's good to hear, let's take a look and a listen and if all is well we'll lift the travel ban on you and you can go about your business," Dr. Mianni replied. "Lie back for me."

The examination was quick and painless, the babies' heart beats were strong and healthy. Dr. Mianni smiled, "It seems your fall didn't hurt the babies' at all. Continue to take it easy, but you can go back to being more active and not resting as much."

Lila smiled, "Dr. Mianni, my grandfather is in the hospital and I'd like to see him. Is that…"

"Try not to get too upset, you can go and see him, try to sit rather than stand for longer periods of time. I'll see you in two weeks…"

Lila slid off the table and changed into her street clothes. "Okay, let's go see Grandpa! Maybe the drugs wore off enough that he's awake a little."

Eddie smiled, even if Frank was awake she wasn't sure he's be strong enough to communicate much. She didn't want to upset Lila though so she only replied, "We'll see."

Frank was sitting up in bed when Lila and Eddie walked in. He was still on the bi-pap but his eyes were opened. "Grandpa, you're up!" Lila hurried to his bedside and put her arms around him.

Frank smiled, "Yeah, peanut…" he rasped weakly. "I'm up. How are you feeling?"

"Ssh," Eddie scolded. "Frank, don't talk so much."

"The babies are fine, I was just at the doctor and she took a picture for you. You see here is Baby A, that one is feisty and likes to make its opinion known. This is Baby B, this one is shy, only pokes me a little bit, it's not aggressive, if I have to say I think they are both girls but one is more opinionated than the other."

Frank smiled and let his eyes drop closed, speaking just those few words tired him. He might be mending but he was not well yet. "They are going to be adorable," Frank sighed. "You will be a good mother…you have a good mother…"

Eddie smiled and stroked Frank's hair back, "Thank you…I had a good partner. How about you get some more rest? Lila and I will come back tomorrow." Eddie could see the visit was too taxing for him.

Frank nodded, "Just a nap…" He was asleep before he finished the sentence.

"Oh, Mom…" Lila gasped. "He's…"

"Doing a lot better," Eddie finished. "He really is, a few more days and I think he'll be his old self but for now he is exhausted. What do you say we head home and get started on dinner? We can all come visit him later after her rests."

Eddie led Lila out of the room and hailed a cab home. While she and Lila worked on dinner, Eddie's heart felt light. Her daughter's pregnancy had not been affected by her fall and Frank was doing better than the doctor's anticipated. She hoped that their next visits would find him doing even better, with everything in her heart, she hoped.

 **A/N: Frank is a tough old bird that is for sure. Pleurisy and other bronchial and respiratory infections almost always complicate COPD difficulties and Frank's case is fairly well controlled. There are many out there suffering from this mostly silent illness cause by anything from smoking to impure environmental factors.**

 **Next Update – May 20** **th** **– The family joins for Sunday dinner.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

"Are you sure we should be making such a big deal about this, Linda?" Danny asked his wife as they hug a colorful Welcome Home banner over the inside of the doorway.

"Yes, your father has been in the hospital for two weeks, he missed two Sunday dinners, we should celebrate him beating the odds and making it home."

Danny nodded, "Sean said that it was really a close call this time, honey. I was thinking of talking Jamie and Eddie about Dad staying with us for a while, so you could monitor him."

"I talked to Jamie about it the other day and he said it's Dad's choice," Linda replied. "Personally, I think he and Eddie would like a break. Jamie's mostly recovered but Eddie's health isn't that great, the babies are coming and Jamie is occupied with that…Still, we have to face that Frank's body is failing, but his mind and his stubbornness…"

Danny nodded, it was humbling for him to see his father so sick. Danny crossed the room and held Linda tight. "I love you so much," she whispered to Danny. "Seeing everything your brother has gone through and now Dad…we're very lucky."

Danny rubbed Linda's back and smiled, "Let's finish getting this ready. Jamie's text said they would be here by 3 and it's nearly that."

Erin, Lila, Rita, and Molly were busy in the kitchen preparing a lovely eye round roast, mashed cauliflower, and au gratin potatoes. They baked fresh rolls, made gravy, and Molly put her special touch on a Peppermint Patty cake.

"Lila, look at your belly, you're getting your front all wet!"

Lila laughed, "This belly is getting in way of everything all ready and I still have fifteen more weeks. Oh, Rita, can you hand me that gravy boat and a towel?"

"Why don't you sit down, Lila?" Erin suggested. "Your Mom will have our hides if we're over working you."

Lila sighed but was grateful to get her weight off her legs. Her legs had been cramping and aching lately and her side throbbed. She didn't mention these petty little issues to her mother or her husband, they both had plenty of problems. Steven still hadn't healed his relationship with his parents, the baby shower would be a test of their will. When they learned about her fall, there was no attempt to communicate with their son or to offer support.

"You feeling okay?" Rita asked taking over on the gravy station. She was rapidly becoming a full-fledged Reagan helping with family dinners and gatherings.

"Yes," Lila replied. "The babies are doing well, the doctor is happy but…I think I laughed at my mother to early. She told me how sore she was carrying me and Joey because of her size and well…"

Molly smiled, "Can happened as ye go inta the third trimester. If ye knead the muscles like this…" Molly moved to Lila and started to knead her side. "It releases the pressure. The ligaments of yer uterus are stretchin to let is grown and have room. Ye are tiny, ye might even have trouble breathin before they come."

Lila sighed, "Dr. Mianni says that I'll probably deliver by 37 weeks and the babies are right on schedule. I'm starting to figure out their little personalities now. Steven and I have to get cracking on the house hunting. We have it narrowed down but if we want to be moved in by the time the babies come we have to act sooner rather than later."

"Well, what's holding you up?" Rita asked. "I could help you out, I mean I handle mostly commercial properties but I could give you some advice."

"Thank you, Rita, but it's mostly Steven's pride," Lila replied. "He's agreed to take the down payment from Mom and Dad but it's sticking in his craw having to do that. I told him we could look on Staten Island but it's too far out for his Engine Company."

"Well, you can look at some fixer uppers, houses that are less modern…" Lila nodded, "That's a good idea. Can you e-mail me some listings to go over with Steven?"

Rita agreed to do that later that night after the welcome home party was over.

"Hey, you ladies nearly ready in here?" Linda asked pushing the kitchen door open. "Jamie and Eddie just pulled up with Frank."

Eddie pushed the front door open smiling as the entire Reagan family turned to greet their patriarch. "Careful Dad," Jamie said gently.

Frank was still weak needing his cane and Jamie's arm to get inside. Jamie wheeled his oxygen and held the long tube while Frank crossed the threshold barely able to get to the chair before having an exacerbation.

Jamie held up his hand to keep the family from crowding in and massaged his father's back to ease the coughing spell. When it passed, Jamie offered water. Frank sipped it then leaned back with a bright smile on his face. "Well, if being in the hospital for two weeks gets me my entire family for a Sunday dinner with a few new additions, then it was worth it. Do I smell roast beef?"

Lila smiled, "Yes, Aunt Erin, Molly, and Rita have been working hard on it. Welcome home grandpa."

Lila leaned over to kiss Frank's cheek. The babies tumbled in her belly as she did so. Lila took Frank's hand, it was cold but still strong with he squeezed and placed it on her belly. "They're so happy you're home too."

"Wow…How do you like that? They are very active little ones aren't they?" Frank laughed. "You two make sure you let your Momma get some sleep."

Nikki stood off in the corner of the room. Her husband and son were busy with the other Reagan men talking shop, or in their case, listening to shop talk. She missed direct contact with her grandfather over the years, he was much closer to Lila now, but that was her decision. Nikki wanted to be independent of the Reagan name, the move to Boston did that but it cost her precious time too. Seeing her cousin's belly round with the twins and how much Frank enjoyed feeling the little ones kick stung, it stung a lot.

Nikki moved back into the fray, a false smile on her face. Lila sat down next to Frank, Eddie going to get both of them something to drink. Linda pulled Eddie aside, "Did you and Jamie speak to Frank?"

Eddie nodded, "We did and he told us in no uncertain terms he is doing his living and if God sees fit his dying in his house and in his bed. I'm sorry, Linda. I know Danny wants to spend more time with him. Our door is always open. We have the extra room, you guys can stay here whenever and however long you want to."

Linda smiled, "I think maybe we will stay some nights. The truth is Eddie, Danny's starting to have a harder time getting around and driving, you know. His sight is not what it used to be but will he get glasses, no he's stubborn."

Eddie laughed, "Jamie is like that too with his brace and his cane, but I insist. To be honest, Linda, if Jamie falls and breaks a hip, I can't take care of him, not on the new medication I'm not. No way."

"You look good, Eddie, you really do, so something is working."

Erin poked her head into the kitchen, "Am I missing a senior Reagan woman pow wow in here?"

"No," Eddie replied. "We were just talking about how stubborn our men are, but you knew that you warned us at our weddings they were impossible. And I think my Jamie, as he gets older, is getting worse. Danny at least seems a little more reasonable."

"He is, except for the glasses," Linda laughed. "Maybe when Jack and Rita start giving us grandchildren, he'll want to see them up close and decide to do it then."

The ladies talk turned to weddings and babies once more while Steven regaled the men with the story of his latest fire at Colin's request.

"It wasn't a hero type situation," Steven informed him. "We got the mom and two of the kids out but the father had run in after their dog and got himself trapped. There was no way we could get to them, my Captain pulled us out."

"That's horrible," Nikki's son Patrick spoke up. "Why didn't you just push ahead anyway."

"Well, Patty, when your CO gives and order," Frank began.

"Uncle Danny never listened to that stuff." Danny was Patrick's hero.

"No, I never did and look where it got me, offered Chief of D's by my kid brother when he took over the Commissioner's chair. No offense Jamie but I just couldn't do it, beside I was too old even for your new protocol about non field officers. By the way, did you push Benson?"

Jamie shook his head, "We had our come to Jesus meeting when she got in Joey's way, and she's backed off. It's about trust, any leadership role is about trusting the people you hire. Joe proved her wrong too, they finally caught the SOB last week and because of Joey's technique, Jenna is going to be testifying." Jamie was beaming with pride.

Joey blushed, " It worked this time but let's face it, Dad, anyone who gets me is going to give me a harder time, just like Uncle Danny and just like you when it was Grandpa in the chair."

"Well, when I take over," Jack commented. "I'll cut you break…"

The ladies smiled at the sound of laughter coming from the living room. The meal was all ready to hit the table. Eddie, Linda, and Erin began carrying things out.

With the entire family seated around the table, there were sixteen people surrounding it, Jamie sat at the head on one side, Frank on the other side. Eddie smiled at Jamie, he had a rough two weeks, they all did with the risk of losing Frank, but he'd pulled through, proving the strength of the Reagan clan once again. Jamie looked across the table at the man who he based his life's choices, "Dad, I'd be honored if you'd lead us in grace."

Frank smiled, "I'd be honored to lead," he replied. "Bless us oh Lord…"

 **A/N: Frank may have been down but he was certainly not out. It was challenging but fun to write about the entire family coming together to welcome Frank. The Reagan men have hard heads, it's by the grace that their women can be even harder.**

 **Next Update – May 22** **nd** **– Jamie prepares to write a big fat check for Lila and Steven; Steven shocks Lila with a question at the doctor's office.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty – One

Two weeks later, Lila and Steven were still mulling over the same four houses. "Do any of them stand out above the rest?" Steven asked Lila as they pored over the real estate listings. They'd been looking at the same houses for a month, but they were still stuck.

"I don't know," Lila sighed. "There are good and not-so-good points to them all. It's such a big decision."

"Yeah, it is," replied Steven. "But it's not so big that we can't handle it."

"I know, babe," said Lila, rubbing Steven's back just a bit. "I just want it to be the perfect home for our family."

" _Our family,_ " sighed Steven, "I hear it and I still don't really believe it's happening."

"I know," said Lila. "But we deserve to be happy and we will be. My folks are both doing really well, my Mom saw the nephrologist again and her numbers are steady, Dad saw the neurologist and he's doing well. Grandpa is doing well, things are coming into place more or less."

"That's good, Lila. We do deserve to be happy," replied Steven as he placed his hand on her tummy. "We've been through so much with our respective families, yours mostly medical and mine mostly stupidity, but no one can argue that our family isn't meant to be, not even my parents."

"Indeed." said Lila, her hand atop his.

"I guess we need to weed out a few more of these, huh?" said Lila, getting back to the task at hand.

"Yeah, I think so," said Steven. "Which ones do you like the most?"

"Well, I think we should go with 4 bedrooms versus 3," said Lila. "At first I didn't think we'd find any 4 bedrooms in the price limit Dad set, but since we did I like the idea of the extra space."

"Okay, so that's this one and this one, right?" asked Steven, moving the pages off the table.

"Right," answered Lila. "I like that this one has the master bedroom and the smaller bedroom downstairs, it'd name for a nice, close nursery while the twins are small."

"Okay, so you want a house where we can have the nursery close to our room?"

"Yeah," Lila replied. "I know we'll have a baby monitor and all, and they say a mother can always hear her baby when it wakes at night, but this being the first time I'd really like to have them close."

"Sure, babe, whatever makes you happy." Steven knew he would be working nights in blocks of threes or fours and there would be many nights Lila would be alone with their twins. "So, that really only leaves these two here." He handed her two pages from the few that remained on the table.

"I guess so. I'd like to walk through them both once more and really decide which one feels more like home. Maybe we should bring my Dad, it is his money for the down payment."

"Not a problem." Steven's pride took a hit with Jamie footing the housing bill, but he knew it was the best for their family. "I'll call Rita tomorrow and see when she can get us back in."

"Great! Looks like we've almost got it figured out, huh?"

"Looks that way to me," answered Steven with a smile. "I want to get everything done with the financing by the end of next week, so hopefully we'll be able to move by the end of next month. I want us to be totally settled in before the little ones arrive."

"Do you think they are boys, girls, or one of each?" Lila asked him.

"Depends on when you ask me!" replied Steven with a laugh. "I think one thing one day and the opposite the next. I really don't know. What do you think?"

"Oddly enough," said Lila, "I'm doing the same thing you are, flipping back and forth. You'd think I'd have a 'mother's hunch' of some sort, but I really don't."

"Well, boys, girls or both, they are going to be the most beautiful babies in the world."

"And the most loved," added Lila. "I can't wait, Steven, It's going to be so amazing."

"I know, babe," he replied. "I'm counting the days right along with you."

They met with Rita a few days later, and she showed them the 2 houses they had left to choose between. That evening, they once again sat on the family's couch discussing their options.

"I'm torn," Lila sighed. "Completely torn between them."

"What things are making it hard to pick?" Jamie asked as Eddie served them tea.

"Well, the layout of this one is great as far as guest space and storage space goes," she said. "But this one has the little bedroom close to the master, which is important to me since I want the babies close to us."

"If that's really what's tripping you up, I don't see how there's a problem. I think we should go with this one so we can have the babies' room close to ours. That's a lot more important than having extra closet space and a bigger attic," Steven reasoned and received a firm nod from Eddie. She knew Jamie was biting his tongue, he liked order, but even he would concede to the babies' proximity being more important than places for boxes.

"You're absolutely right!" said Lila, a relieved expression on her face. "I don't know why I didn't look at it that way, I mean what's more important - where we keep the extra junk or where our babies sleep?!"

"That's right," Steven agreed, glad he was able to help Lila make a decision she was happy with. "I'll call Rita first thing tomorrow and let her know we'd like to put an offer in on this one, okay?"

"You bet," replied Lila. "Let's hope we get it, I'd hate to have to choose again!"

"Well, for now the choosing is done. Now why don't we drink our tea then head for home to get some shut-eye? We've got an early appointment with Dr. Mianni tomorrow."

"Yeah, we do," said Lila with a yawn. "I don't know that it'll be all that involved, but it's always nice to know everything is still going on all right."

Jamie sipped his tea, "Let me know when and how to transfer the money and I'll be sure that it's there for you to use when the offer is accepted. This location is prime too, it's got one of the best schools in Brooklyn and it's walking distance from here so if you two run into trouble with those little ones Eddie or I can get there fast."

"I can come by and visit on my walks," Frank chimed in as he entered from his room. "What house did you pick?"

Lila showed Frank the picture of two story, four bedroom, two and half bathroom home with a wrap porch and large bay window.

"That's wonderful," Frank smiled. "Good choice and it's a good price for the size and the neighborhood.

When the tea and cookies were consumed and Lila had helped Eddie clean up, still cautious of her mother over doing things, she and Steven headed for home. They fell asleep in each other's arms dreaming of their new life in their new home with their new family.

The next morning Steven woke early so he could treat Lila to breakfast at the favorite pancake house. Lila was craving heavy starch lately and Steven was happy to oblige her. He was glad this appointment fell on a day off. Steve missed a lot of appointments, but he was thankful that his in-laws helped and accompanied her.

They waited half an hour at the doctor thumbing through a baby name book. "I want the names to have significance. I want to give a daughter my family name…Reagan."

"Reagan Tenney, that has a nice ring to it," Steven replied. "What about if we get two girls, we call the other one Rachel, after my grandma?"

Lila smiled and nodded, "And if it is a boy and girl, Rachel for our next daughter."

"You'd do this again?" Steven asked knowing it was getting very hard for his wife to do simple things like get in and out of bed or even sleep.

Lila nodded, "I would…" Steven bent to kiss her then they heard, "Lila," from the nurse. Steven guided his wife up and helped her walk into the exam room. Lila sat on the table and together they waited for the doctor.

"How are we doing today, Lila?' Dr. Mianni asked.

"Aside from having to pee all the time and not being able to get comfortable to sleep," Lila laughed. "I'm fine!"

"Ah yes, the familiar sounds of a patient in her 28th week," said the doctor. "I could introduce you to many, many other women who know exactly how you feel."

"Well, it's nice to know I'm not suffering alone," said Lila with a smile.

"If you'll lay back for me," said Dr. Mianni, "I'll measure your belly and make sure the babies are still on track."

Lila laid back on the table. The doctor pulled a measuring tape from her lab coat pocket and measured the height of Lila's tummy.

"Perfect," she said as she jotted down her findings on Lila's chart. Pulling the small Doppler Machine from her other pocket, she said "Let's listen to the heartbeats." She squeezed a small amount of gel on Lila's tummy, moved the small Doppler wand around until she heard the heartbeat, and then held it still as a familiar, comforting sound filled the room.

"I could listen to that all day," said Steven proudly.

"Does it sound Okay?" asked Lila, being the ever-concerned mother-to-be.

"Sounds wonderful," said Dr. Mianni. "Everything today appears to be right on track, which is exactly what we like to see."

"Amen to that," replied Steven.

"Do either of you have any questions for me?" asked the doctor as the appointment drew to a close.

"I don't think so, my mother and aunts tell enough stories to answer any of my questions three times over and my Aunt Linda is a nurse…"

"Actually, I do have one," said Steven. This surprised Lila, not that he had a question, but that he hadn't mentioned to her before then.

"Sure, Steven," said Dr. Mianni, "What is it?"

"At what point in the pregnancy does sex become unsafe?" asked Steven. "For their sake, not mine," he added, pointing towards Lila with a little grin.

"Unless there are complications of some sort," said the doctor. "Sex is perfectly safe through the entire pregnancy."

"Really?!" replied Steven, clearly a bit surprised.

"Yes, really," said Dr. Mianni. "In fact, some couples whose babies are overdue find that having sex actually helps bring on labor."

"We'll be tucking that away for possible future reference!" said Lila.

"Wow, I guess you really do learn something new every day, huh?!" said Steven. "Thank you, doctor. It probably seemed like a silly question, but I've been concerned about it so I thought I'd better ask. That wasn't exactly a question for Aunt Linda at Sunday dinner."

"It wasn't silly at all, Steven. I think it's wonderful that you're so concerned about Lila and the babies that you'd ask about that, not a lot of men would."

"He's the best," Lila said beaming. "One-of-a-kind in the most wonderful ways."

"I can see that, Lila. This baby is going to be very lucky to have you both for it's parents."

"Thank you, doctor," said Steven. "I think, though, that _we're_ gonna be the lucky ones."

 **A/N: We're getting closer now…and soon it will be moving day! I want to thank all the reviewers that have been following me for this entire series and hopefully you will all be here for the next nine parts. Don't forget to check out the first installment of the Love Is…Series That's What Love Is For.**

 **Next Update – Ma 24** **th** **– Lila, Jamie, and Eddie support Steven after a difficult fire.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

"We are at the scene now of a four alarm fire in the Fort Hamilton section of Brooklyn where firefighters are battling the blaze in the intense July heat. Four firemen have just entered this fully engulfed building in an attempt…"

Frank shut the TV off and pulled Lila close to him. "Ssh, baby…He's fine. He's trained, this is his job, ssh…"

Eddie sat down beside Lila, "Grandpa is right. Calm down, it's not healthy for you to get so upset in your 29th week. Take a deep breath for four seconds, hold four seconds, and let our four seconds…"

Lila matched Eddie's even breaths. Jamie was at the scene of the fire along with Jack and of course Steven. There was a considerable police presence, Jamie wanted to be there.

"That's my girl, why don't you go up to our room and lie down for a little bit. As soon as I get a call from Dad I'll update you." Eddie stroked Lila's hair, her maternal instinct telling her that the flush of Lila's cheeks was not safe.

"All right," Lila replied. "Can you carry up some water for me please?" Lately Lila needed both hands to balance climbing stairs.

Eddie looked at Frank raising an eyebrow. She got Lila her water and tucked the quilt around her turning up the air conditioning. "I love you, try to rest. I'm right downstairs, just call out for me. I'll hear you."

Lila smiled, "Mom, is it true you know when something is wrong with us before we know it sometimes?"

Eddie nodded, "That is very very true," she replied. "You'll see, there is no love on earth more powerful than what you will feel for those babies. If Steven steps out of line with them, too harsh or something you will even feel the urge to protect them against him. I remember when Daddy wanted to spank Joey once…I went off on him with more strength and energy than I had in days. You'll see." Eddie kissed Lila's cheek and went back downstairs to await Jamie.

Lila napped for two hours, Jamie arrived home just before she woke up. "Where's Lila?"

"She's upstairs asleep," Eddie replied. "Why? Oh no…"

"No, he's fine," Jamie said quickly. "Physically, he's fine."

"Mom," Lila called hearing her father's voice from downstairs. "Mom?"

"I'll go," Jamie told Eddie seeing she needed a minute to catch her breath after fearing for her son-in-law.

Jamie headed upstairs and pushed the bedroom door open. "Dad?"

"Steven's still going to be a while dealing with some paper work, he wants you to stay the night here and he'll come here when he's done."

"Dad, if he was hurt…"

"If he was hurt I'd tell you," Jamie assured you. "As it is, he's going to need your special kind of love tonight."

"What's happened?" Lila asked sitting up and putting her hand on her belly.

"There was a big fire, five engine companies and all of Brooklyn precincts. Most of the people got out, even their animals, but a father and his baby got trapped inside behind some fallen beams and Steven and the others…they were pulled before he was able to find them. He's really torn up, he wanted to stay inside and try to get them but his Captain…He's really broken up."

Lila nodded, "Help me up?"

Jamie laughed and helped Lila to her feet. "I remember these days with your Mom, but she wasn't quite as big as you are yet. How are my grandchildren doing?"

"I think they are napping, they were moving lot but now not so much," Lila replied bracing her back with her hand.

Jamie supervised the decent on the stairs, Frank slowly carried in a tray with tea. They settled down around the TV eating whatever struck any of them. These were some of Eddie's favorite moments, just sitting together, not talking, just being together.

Eddie made up Lila's old room for her before she turned in for the night. Jamie was so tense when he lay down beside her. "What is it? What aren't you telling us?" Eddie could feel his resistance in his body.

"The mother of that child," Jamie swallowed. "She went ballistic, which was her right. She took off after the fire Captain, assaulted him….she was screaming insults at Steven and the other men. But the most chilling part…she made threats, calm threats…When we ran her name, I had to have arrested after the assault, she's mentally ill, I'm concerned for Steven, I'm concerned for all of them. We can't hold her, no ADA in the world is going to charge a grieving mother and wife."

Eddie sighed, "I'm sure she didn't mean it, lambchop. She was upset. Look how I acted when Joe got shot and I knew he going to be okay. We'll be extra vigilant, if you want ask Jack to put a team on their apartment…"

"I'll think about that," Jamie sighed. "For now, I hope Lila inherited your ability to comfort and empathize…he'll need it."

Eddie kissed Jamie's head, "I love you and if Steven needs a mother, he's got one. Rest, you worked almost 15 hours today."

Jamie sighed and closed his eyes as Eddie stroked his hair.

It was after three when Steven tiptoed into his wife's old bedroom. The soft moonlight fell on her and made her look more radiant and beautiful than he could ever recall her looking. She slept on her side, her hand protectively over babies.

Steven sat on the bed and covered his face with his hands. If it had been his babies burning alive in that building, no one would have kept him out. As Steven sat and watched Lila, all of the emotions he had choked down at the scene, at the firehouse, at the debriefing came ratcheting up. His throat burned from more than just the arid smoke and his breath hitched he finally let his emotions run free.

It was the sound of Steven's harsh breathing that woke Lila. She sat up quickly seeing her strong husband, shoulders hunched, crying as silently as possible. "Steven?" Lila moved closer and wrapped him up in her arms, their babies pressing against his back. "Oh, baby, ssh…ssh…I know. I know, Dad told me."

"I tried, I did I tried…" Steven sobbed turning to cradle Lila close and keep their babies safe between then. "I don't understand….I don't understand why that mother…The older children could walk and run and move on their own…That poor baby, he couldn't…"

Lila rubbed Steven's back and he hiccupped and questioned the mother's motives. "I don't know why, Baby," Lila sighed. "I don't know why they did that either. I wish I did…"

The babies kicked and tumbled in Lila's belly as if they too were trying to soothe their father. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, they just let me come home to destress for a bit, I have to report by 8."

"Lie down then," Lila told him. "I'll get up and fix you breakfast."

"No, I don't think I could eat. ME found the bodies, oh God Lil…" Steven jumped of the bed remembering the charred corpses and ran to the bathroom across from Jamie and Eddie's room. Lila could hear the retching and gagging, so could Jamie and Eddie.

Lila pushed the door open and rubbed Steven's back as he had with her so many time during her pregnancy. "It's all right, just breathe into it."

Jamie appeared in the doorway, "Lila, give me a minute with him." Jamie knew what it was like to see those terrible things, he might be able to help so Lila kissed her husband and silently thanked her father.

"Keep your head down," Jamie told Steven as he made a compress and laid it on the younger man's neck. "You know, in this many year on the job almost 35 years a cop, you see a lot of things. Blood, guts…my first D B the guy bled out and was holding in his own guts in. It was disgusting and I threw up the entire night. I know you've seen a lot of mess in the two years on the fire team, and the longer you're on the team you'll learn that there are two kinds of firemen, two kinds of cops…two kind of anything really….the kind that gets rid of their feelings and the kind that keeps them. If you are going to be the kind that keeps them, you're going to be sick a lot, but I think you'll be the better man for doing so."

Steven lifted his head to look up at Jamie but felt another wave of nausea, "Keep your head down," Jamie said again. "You'll be a better man, you might be a better fireman, definitely a better father and husband, but you'll get sick. The important thing is to release it, talk to Lila, talk to me or Eddie, we have been there, we do understand what it feels like to see a dead child, dying in such a horrific way…"

Jamie knelt down by Steven as the younger man got sick over and over again. Jamie rubbed his back like he did when Joey saw his first body, offering silent support. Eddie heard her husband's soft words, she padded downstairs to fix a cup of herbal tea for Steven. When the nausea finally passed, Jamie stood up and helped Steven to his feet. Eddie was in the hall with a steaming mug of tea. "Here, this is Frank's sure fire cure for stomach upset," Eddie replied. "Drink it, get some rest. We are here to listen always."

Steven took the steaming mug and smiled at Jamie and Eddie. They were like his surrogate parents and it helped to hear their advice and feel their support.

Steven went back into the bedroom, Lila was lying down waiting. "Ah, Mom made you tea. Lie down and try to sleep."

Steven sipped the soothing blend then took a breath, "It's times like this I really miss being able to call my Dad."

"Why don't you?" Lila asked rubbing Steven's arm.

"Because I can't until they apologize to you and your family," Steven replied. "That was my line in the sand. I will not move it now especially so close to the birth."

Lila smiled, "I love you. I wish you had tomorrow off. I can ask my father…"

"No," Steven said firmly. "I didn't do anything special tonight, I did my job like every other man out there. You father explained the difference, and if it makes me that kind of father, that kind of man…I'm good with it."

Steven rolled over and pulled Lila close, "Let's sleep as much as we can together. You stay here tomorrow and rest all right?"

Lila nodded, "Yes but when your cycle is over I'll be home waiting for you. We have to start packing and things since the financing is in place."

Steven nodded, "For now just rest, please you are so precious to me, baby. Please don't put yourself or these babies at risk."

Lila nodded and kissed his head, "I love you so much. Let's just hold each other tight."

Steven sighed and pulled Lila closer, breathing in the scent of her hair. The words of the grieving mother and widow still rung in his head, "You'll pay for this," she had shouted. "With your children's blood…"

Steven held Lila even tighter, if the sheer force of his love could protect his family, nothing would harm a hair on their heads.

A/N: **Steven had a rough night there, but he's slowly accepting Jamie and Eddie as his parents and embracing the Reagan family. But will this unstable woman carry out her ominous threats against Steven's family?**

 **Next Update – May 26** **th** **– Lila learns of the threats against her family and reacts in a classic Reagan way. Lila receives a bone chilling phone call.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty – Three

Thirty-nine hours later, Steven returned home to the apartment to find Lila had made his favorite, grilled Tuscan chicken and steamed vegetables. A low rumble of July thunder was the only sound besides the sizzle of a home cooked meal. "Hey, wow you look so pretty."

Lila laughed, "Please don't lie, I look like a big fat whale. It's so hot in here." Lila had all of their window units blaring and was still perspiring.

"You look like an adorable cute little dolphin," Steven laughed and kissed Lila's lips. "I love you baby. I'll set the table after I shower."

Lila sat down and kicked off her shoes. Her feet were so swollen her flip flops left marks. She sighed, she napped and was still exhausted. She was just about to get up when the phone began to ring, "Hello," Lila greeted the caller. "Steven Tenney," said a recorded female voice. "You and yours will burn in hell for all eternity. Baby killer! Baby killer! Don't close your eyes!"

Steven stepped out of the shower, Lila was on the phone, "Well, she did Joey and it's the first I heard of it, so please do something! I don't care if the whole world knew, I should have known! I'm not a baby!"

When Lila hung up, Steven raised an eye brow, "What happened?"

Lila turned to look at Steven narrowing her eyes at him. "That was some lady calling you a baby killer, she threatened our family!"

"We had that bad fire Lil, lost a baby, there was no way we could get to him. We talked about that." Steve sighed taking a seat in one of the kitchen chairs.

Lila shook her head feeling anger rip through her body. "She threatened you! I called Joey and Dad has a tracer on the phones, this is a real threat! Why didn't you tell me? We're supposed to be partners Steve tell each other everything. How can I trust you if you don't?"

"Lil, I just don't want to give her crazy any…"

Lila held up her hand and slipped on her shoes. "I'm going for a walk…I need some air. I can't believe you, my father sure, he thinks I'm still a little girl in a tutu, but you. How could you?

Before Steve could answer Lila stormed out, still barefoot and all slamming the door behind her.

Lila was only two blocks from the apartment when rain began to pour down from the sky. She was soaked in mere seconds, the water blending with her tears. How could he have kept this from her? She was often alone at home with their precious babies beneath her heart. Her father, brother, and husband conspired against her and it hurt.

Lila was so lost in her own thoughts the water falling all around barely registered. Her mother, she would know what to do and say in this situation, and for sure she would make her father explain everything. That was Lila's only goal now, to reach her home and her mother. She would fix everything.

"Hello," Eddie greeted as the telephone rang.

"Eddie, Mom, it's Steven, is she there?"

"Steven? Lila, no she's not here, did something happen?"

"We had a fight, well, she yelled at me and took off minutes before it started to pour. She said she was going to for some air but she's been gone a while."

Eddie sighed, "All right, let me call Jamie, he's on his way home now. I'll have him ride the way that we usually walk and if he sees her, he'll pick her up, I'll calm her down. You come over in about two hours. I'll handle it."

Eddie hung up with Steven and called Jamie's cell. "Lila left the apartment, she found out about the threats when that woman called their house. She's out there in the rain, can you keep an eye out for her?"

"Sure thing, and bring her home?"

"To our home," Eddie replied. "I have to talk to her gently and get her calm. Please Jamie!"

"I'll drive the usual way," Jamie replied and informed his driver of the situation.

While Jamie rode home with his eyes peeled, Lila kept walking. Their neighborhood was still quiet and no one else seemed to be nutty enough to be out in the deluge. As Lila walked, and cried, she was oblivious to the power going out all around her. All she could think about was that threats had been made against her husband and her unborn babies and no one saw fit to tell her. As Lila steeped in her anger a loud crack shocked her back to the present. A nearby oak tree had lost a limb dropping a live power line directly in Lila's path. As she watched the blue ball of electricity dance dangerously close to her, Lila backed up to get out of it's path. She didn't hear the slam of a car door as the backed up and into a hard firm grip. She tried to fight and screamed with all her might.

"Lila," Jamie whispered in her ear. "Lila, it's Daddy…It's Daddy baby…Ssh. It's all right."

It took Jamie another minute to get Lila to recognize his voice. Finally his touch and the use of her pet name, "Kitten" got her to relax against him, sobbing harder than Jamie ever remembered her doing. "Come on, let's get into the car. You're all right."

Jamie helped Lila, who was still shaking and now clinging to him to the SUV. Once inside, Jamie wrapped his daughter in his arms. "Take a deep breath, Mom's going to take care of you when we get to the house, it's all right." Lila was shaking now as the air conditioning in the SUV hit her wet skin. Jamie held Lila close and rubbed her arms to warm her. They pulled into the driveway ten minutes later. Eddie was waiting on the porch with a robe for her daughter.

Jamie held Lila tight until he got her up the steps to Eddie, then turned the shaking girl over to her mother. Eddie wrapped the robe around Lila's shoulders easing her inside. Lila looked up at Jamie, blue eyes flashing, "How could you? How could all of you do that to me?!"

"Lila," Jamie sighed. "We didn't think she meant anything by it. The calls started about two days ago, Steven on his cell and the other firefighters. To protect you and my grandchildren, I put a tracer on the house, you are 30 weeks, and you have to take care of yourself. Steven did not want you so upset so close to the end of your pregnancy. I see now it backfired."

Eddie was still holding and rocking Lila in her arms. "What got you so scared, precious? The call but what else."

"The tree, the power line…that cat…it was dead on the street then I thought something caught me…" Lila hiccupped. "I kept remembering that old movie…That woman threatened my babies and all I can hear now is that old rhyme, you know… "Look upon the face of death…"

"Oh, honey…" Eddie sighed. "Jamie, I hear Dad fussing with tea can you get it from him please?"

Jamie knew Eddie needed sometime with Lila alone so he patted is daughter's knee and headed off. "Don't be scared, Angel. It's always been a myth that the baby could be impacted by something that frightened the mother." Eddie whispered. "Once when I was pregnant, I went up into the attic here to get down some baby things that were packed away from when your Dad was a baby. While I was up there, the biggest spider I ever saw crawled up my arm. I screamed so loud, Uncle Danny came running up with his gun drawn and that scared me even more, but my baby was born perfect."

Lila wiped her eyes, "Which one of us was it?"

Eddie tweaked Lila's nose like she did when she was younger, "You. You were the most perfect baby…and your babies will be perfect too. I know it. Steven will be here in about an hour to take you home."

Eddie called Jamie to come back in, and Frank carried in tea gently scolding his granddaughter, "Didn't I tell you about running away from home when you were about six?"

Lila sniffled, "I guess." She accepted the tea

"You, your doll Sophie, a pillowcase, and a banana ran away and made it almost all the way to the bus before Uncle Danny found you and brought you back home. Your Dad was busy working, so I went over to soothe your Mom…we talked about this."

Lila had to laugh, "I guess I got angry and I didn't. I am pregnant, I'm not sick or anything and I felt lied to."

Eddie nodded, "I know but it really wasn't malicious sweetie. You and Steven talk it out okay? While you're waiting for him to come, put those feet up, my goodness…"

Lila did as her mother said and gently elevated her legs in Frank's chair. Eddie watched the clock checking, "He should be here any minute."

A minute turned into thirty, and then to forty five, and still no Steven. Lila dozed off exhausted from the trying afternoon while Eddie tried to call Steven twice. Just as Eddie was about to send Jamie over to retrieve their son-in-law, Lila's phone rang. Lila jolted awake and answered listening to the caller. "Um, hello, is this Mrs. Lila Tenney?" said the voice on the calling end. The tone scared Lila worse than the threatening call her earlier. She immediately reached for Jamie who took her hand in his and held on tight.

"Yes, who is this!" said Lila, beginning to get scared.

"Ma'am, my name is Sergeant Connolly," said the caller. "I'm out of the 6-8. I recognized the name, you're Commissioner Reagan's daughter. I'm calling to notify you that your husband Steven has been involved in an accident and is being taken to Lutheran Hospital."

 **A/N: I am pretty sure no one saw that one coming. Did this accident have to do with the threats or was it just a twist of fate? Jamie and Eddie will have their hands full now, good thing they are good parents.**

 **Next Update – May 28** **th** **\- Lila's Reagan temper shows up while waiting with her parents for news on Steven.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty - Four

"Oh, God, no!" cried Lila. "What happened? Is he okay?! Is he alive!?" Lila began to cry. Eddie hurried over to take her daughter into her arms while Jamie took the phone. "This is Commissioner Reagan."

"Sir, I'm so sorry to have upset your daughter, but I had to make the notification. Please tell her that he is alive, but that's all the information I have regarding his condition. It appears that a car traveling in another lane lost control and crossed into your son-in-law's path and he had no time to avoid it. We looked in his wallet and found your daughter's name and number on his emergency contact card as well as your courtesy card."

"We're on our way, please have an escort at our home in 10 minutes, for my wife, my daughter and me. Thank you, Sergeant." Jamie hung up the phone. "Get your coats on, I'm going to all Erin to come over and stay with Dad. We'll go directly to the hospital as soon as the radio car gets here. Eddie, don't let her out of your sight."

Eddie gave Jamie her patented, "Duh," look. She'd only been Lila's mother for 22 years.

The radio car arrived promptly. Lila prayed the whole way to the hospital. " _Please, God, don't let me lose him, not now, not ever…"_ The Sergeant hadn't been able to give nearly enough information to satisfy her terrified mind, but knowing that Steven was alive was definitely better than wondering.

With lights flashing and sirens blaring the radio car sped into the parking lot at Lutheran Hospital, dropping the family at the ER entrance so they didn't lose any time getting inside. Eddie still had a firm grip on Lila, while Jamie thanked the two officers before heading inside. .

"I'm Mrs. Tenney," Lila said as she arrived at the desk, pale and out of breath. "My husband was brought here, he was in an accident, Steven Tenney!"

"Oh, yes ma'am, we've been expecting you," said the nurse behind the desk. "Let me go see what's going on with him while you have a seat."

"I don't want to have a seat!" yelled Lila. "I want to see him, NOW!" Lila knew they had protocol to follow, but at that moment she couldn't have cared less.

"Lila, calm down," Eddie whispered to her distraught daughter. "Give them a minute to find out what's going on. Take a breath."

Jamie stepped up behind Lila and Eddie and rubbed his daughter's back. "It's all right, Kitten. Just wait a few minutes."

"I know you want to see him," the nurse sympathized. "But I have to go see what the situation is before I can allow anyone back there." Lila's face was incredibly flushed and her cheeks were bright red. "You don't look too good, Mrs. Tenney, I'd really like for you to sit down."

"And I'd really like for you to quit giving me a bunch of crap and go find out what the hell's going on with Steven!" Lila fired back.

"Okay, yes, ma'am, I'll be right back," said the nurse as she jogged down the corridor and disappeared. Lila realized right about that time that she didn't feel well, and she decided sitting down was a good idea.

"Mom, I do think I need to sit down," Lila told Eddie who was more than thankful Lila made that decision. Eddie left Lila's side only for a second while she got her a cup of water. Lila drank it slowly as she felt a baby kick a couple of times, and she put her hand on her tummy. " _I know, little ones,_ " she whispered. " _I'm worried about your daddy, too."_ Less than 2 minutes later, Lila saw the nurse heading back in her direction.

"Is he okay? I want to see him!" said Lila as she ran up to the desk.

"The doctors are working on him right now, ma'am," said the nurse. "But they want me to take you back to the family waiting area and as soon as they're done, one of them will come talk to you."

"Oh, no! It's bad, isn't it?" sobbed Lila. "This is how the whole 'we did everything we could' scene always starts! Oh my God, he's dying, isn't he!"

"I don't have any answers for you, Mrs. Tenney," the nurse replied gently as Jamie and Eddie did all they could to soothe their daughter. "But I'm going to walk you back to the waiting area and your parents can sit with you until the doctor can come talk to you."

Lila was crying too hard to speak, but she nodded her head, and together they walked down the hallway, Jamie and Eddie flanking Lila like bookends.

Two hours passed before anyone came in to talk to Lila, the two longest hours of her entire life. She thought about everything she'd miss if her worst fears came to pass - his smile, his laugh, the way he treated her like a princess even when she didn't feel like one. She thought about their life together thus far; how his proposal had been the most amazing one in the history of the universe, how their wedding had been the happiest day of her life, how on their honeymoon in California they had made love on the beach under the stars, something she'd never, _ever_ forget. She thought back to the day they found out they were having the babies, and how excited he was when he recognized a tiny hand on the ultrasound. " _I can't lose him…_ " she said to herself as the sobs took over once again. Jamie sighed and pulled Lila's head to his chest. It was easier when she was the baby and all he would have to do was hold her tight and sing their bedtime song to stop her tears. Finally, a doctor appeared.

"Mrs. Tenney?"

Lila looked up to see a man in green scrubs and a white lab coat standing before her.

"Yes," she answered, doing all she could to brace herself for bad news.

"I'm Dr. McMasters," he greeted, his voice gentle seeing Lila's very rounded belly and the father that looked like he'd take him out if he dared to speak to his little girl in a different tone of voice. "I'm one of the doctors who worked on your husband." Lila couldn't help but notice he used past tense, " _worked_ ", and her heart fell into her stomach.

"Just tell me everything!" cried Lila. "I can't wait any longer!"

"Try to calm down, Mrs. Tenney. I can't allow you to see him when you're this upset, it won't be good for him."

"He's alive!" exclaimed Lila.

"Yes, he is alive," the doctor confirmed. "I take it you weren't aware of that?"

"My Sergeant told us he was alive when he left the scene in the ambulance," Jamie clarified. "But since then no one has told us anything. My daughter is understandably upset about that."

"I'm sorry you've been so worried all this time, Mrs. Tenney," said Dr. McMasters. "We needed to fully assess his condition and treat him accordingly, and that took longer than we expected it to when he first arrived."

"I would have appreciated it if someone had let me know that," said Lila in a very stern voice showing much of her Reagan temper and a little of her Janko fortitude. "Is it common practice to keep the family in the dark and let them sit here and think the worst when there's even a little bit of news they could be given!"

"No, Mrs. Tenney, it isn't, and again I apologize for not letting you know that he was alive, but like I said, it took longer to get him stabilized than we had planned."

"Whatever," said Lila, fed up with the issue. "Can I see him now?"

"Very shortly," replied the doctor. "First I want to bring you up to speed on what happened to him and what we had to do."

"Alright," said Lila. She was anxious to see Steven, but she needed to know what to expect. Eddie took Lila's hand while Jamie stood next to them poised to intervene if he felt it was necessary for Lila's sake or given her current mood, the doctor's.

"According to the paramedics, he was conscious when they arrived on the scene. He was breathing on his own, but it was shallow, and they had to get him out of the vehicle quickly in order to help him."

Lila was picturing in her mind how horrifying the scene must have been.

The doctor continued, "Once they got the brace around his neck and extracted him from the vehicle, he remained conscious but his breathing grew weaker. By the time he reached us, he had lost consciousness and was no longer breathing on his own. As a result, we had to artificially resuscitate him."

"How long did it take?" asked Lila as she wiped away a few tears. The babies, seemingly knowing Lila was upset, kicked just a little.

"Not too long," answered the doctor. "A couple minutes or so. Once we got his breathing going again, it remained stable, which is a very good sign."

"What are his injuries?" asked Lila, knowing he must have some.

"Aside from still being unconscious, he's got a couple of bruised ribs on his right side from the seatbelt impact, both his knees are bruised from slamming against the dashboard, and he's got quite a nasty airbag bruise on his face."

"What's his overall prognosis? asked Jamie when he saw Lila turn her head and begin rubbing her tummy as the babies kicked again..

Dr. McMasters thought for a moment. "The biggest concern we have at the present time is the head injury. It doesn't appear too serious based on the CAT scan, but the fact that he hasn't come to yet does have me a little worried."

"So based on the tests, he should have been awake by now?" asked Lila, the fear evident in her voice.

"Not necessarily, Mrs. Tenney, we know he doesn't have any bleeding on his brain, and the swelling is minimal, but sometimes even under those circumstances it takes patients a good while to regain consciousness."

"I'll ask again," Jamie broke in with a much firmer tone. "His overall prognosis?" He wanted things laid out for his daughter they could handle anything as long as they knew it was happening.

"If he wakes up within the next 6 hours or so, I'd say he stands every chance of making a complete recovery."

"And if he doesn't?" It was Eddie's turn to press for info as Lila turned her body into her mother's arms.

"Then we'd need to do another CAT scan and run some other tests to see if anything is going on that we didn't see initially."

"I see" replied Lila. "Can I see him now, please?"

"Do you feel like you're calm enough?" asked the doctor.

"I think so, yeah," replied Lila. She knew she'd cry again once she and Steven were alone, but she dug down deep and forced herself to keep it together until then, otherwise they'd not let her see him.

"Do you want Daddy or I to come with you, Lila?" Eddie asked softly but Lila shook her head. "No, but if Dad can all Josh and Maura. They still aren't speaking but they have the right to know."

"Of course, I will, Kitten," Jamie promised. "If you want us, you just have someone get us, we'll stay right here."

Lila nodded and followed the doctor. He led Lila to a private room where Steven was. She thanked the doctor for his help, and he left the two of them alone.

"Before I call the Tenneys," Jamie began when Lila was out of earshot. "Is it just me or is she really all over the place today, going from hysterics to being sleepy to that firm biting tone she used on the doctor?"

"Of course she is, Jamie," Eddie replied. "Do you remember me in my seventh month? I was totally crazy. I don't know how you even put up with me, add to that a classic Reagan temper and a little insecurity about us sheltering her so much…This is what you get. She'll be fine, go call the Tenneys. I'm going call Joey to come down and Danny and Linda to sit with your father. It's doing to be okay."

Eddie rubbed Jamie's back and each went to make their calls.

 **A/N: Steven is still hanging in there and he does have a lot to live for. I just completed this story, there are 17 more chapters to go, including a four chapter labor and delivery arc all culminating with a family dinner. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Next update – May 29** **th** **– I am going to update again tomorrow so I'm not dropping more than two stories a day – Lila is finally permitted to see Steven, Joey supports his sister.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty – Five

In Steven's hospital room, Lila walked over to Steven's bedside and touched his hand, ever-so-gently. He didn't look good by any means, but he could have looked a lot worse.

"I'm here, babe," she said quietly, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. "Please wake up. I need to hear your voice, Steven. Talk to me." Steven didn't respond. Lila took his hand in hers, and began to pray again.

" _Please, God, don't let me lose him, not now, not ever…"_

Once Steven's family and the rest of the Reagan clan were informed and Jamie and Eddie were sure Lila was all right for the time being, they headed home to change clothes and check up on Frank. They planned to return to the hospital as soon as they had a short rest. Joey would stop by to check on his sister. The morning shift of nurses were made aware of that Lila had shown signs of stress and kept their eyes on her. "Are you okay, Mrs. Tenney?" Lila jumped at the sound of the nurse's voice.

"Sorry," said Lila. "I didn't mean to fall asleep." Lila pulled a chair up close to Steven's bed so she could hold his hand, and had at some unknown point laid her head down on the edge of the bed and dozed off.

"It's quite alright, ma'am," said the nurse, a different nurse than had been in before. "You need your rest."

"Yeah, I do," replied Lila. She leaned slowly back in the chair, her back scolding her for sleeping in that awkward position.

"When's the big day, ma'am?" asked the nurse.

"Eight more weeks" answered Lila, "Early-to-mid September."

"You must be so excited," said the nurse. "Is this your first baby?"

"Yes, it is" said Lila. "And we're very excited. It's twins."

"If you'll let me sneak by you here, ma'am," said the nurse. "I'll get Mr. Tenney's vitals and then I'll leave you two alone for a while."

"Of course," replied Lila as she got up from her chair and went around to the other side of Steven's bed. "Has there been any change in the last couple of hours?" she asked the nurse.

"None to speak of, ma'am," said the nurse as she watched the blood pressure machine give the latest reading. "He's no better, but he's no worse either. We're all hoping for the best."

"He's going to be fine" said Lila, caressing his forehead with her finger. "He's too stubborn not to be."

The nurse finished checking what she needed to, and made the appropriate notes in Steven's chart. "Alright, Mrs. Tenney, he's all yours until shift change."

"Thank you," said Lila. She moved back to the opposite side of Steven's bed, took a hold of his hand and began talking to him about everything that came into her mind.

"Hey babe," she whispered. "I'm still here, still waiting to hear your voice. The doctor said you need to wake up within another few hours or else he'll have to check your head again. I know you don't want that, so how about you save us all the trouble and wake up for me, okay?"

No response.

She felt the tears coming, and knew she was powerless against them.

"Oh, Steven. I love you so much, and I need you to come out of this!"

She was consumed with emotion until she heard a knock at the door. Managing to somehow get herself together, she looked up and saw a familiar and friendly face.

"Oh, hi Joey." Lila stood up and embraced her brother. "Mom and Dad sent you."

"I got here as soon as I could," Joey replied. "Dad called and told me, where else would I go when my little sister needs me. I was sweating a perp downtown and I couldn't get here until just now."

"It's okay," said Lila. "I've been here since an hour after it happened and I spent most of the first few hours in the waiting room thinking he was dead. You didn't miss much."

"How is he, Lila?" whispered Joey, a look of great concern on his face.

"He's holding his own," replied Lila. "But I'll feel a lot better when he comes out from under this stupid coma."

Joey slid his arms around Lila's shoulders, "How long before the doctor will want to run more tests?"

"A few more hours," Lila sighed. "I don't want him to have anything else done. I just want him to wake up."

"Have you gotten any sleep?" Joe asked Lila, "You look exhausted."

"I dozed off for an hour or so a while ago," replied Lila. "Then the nurse came in to check his vitals and I've been awake since then."

"Why don't I sit with him?" asked Joe. "And you go get comfy in the recliner over there and sleep for a while?"

"I guess it would be a good idea" said Lila. "My back is giving me fits for sleeping hunched over on the side of the bed, and I really am tired. You'll wake me if anything happens, understood?"

"Of course I will, Lila," said Joe. "Now go get some rest."

Lila stood up from the chair she'd pulled beside Steven's bed and went across the room to get settled into the recliner. " _They couldn't make these things any more uncomfortable if they tried_ ," she thought to herself. After a few moments, she found a semi-comfortable position, and covered up with a blanket the nurse had left for her earlier. As she closed her eyes, she felt the babies move a few times. "Hey, little ones" she whispered. "Mommy's going to take a nap, how about you join me?" Almost as if the babies understood, they settled down and allowed Lila nearly 2 hours of peaceful sleep.

She woke up shortly before 10:00 a.m. As she promised, Joe was sitting at Steven's bedside, keeping a close watch over him.

"No news, huh?" asked Lila as she sat the recliner up.

"Nope," said Joe. "The nurse popped in to see if you were alright and was pleased when she saw you sleeping."

"I'm still beat" replied Lila, "but I know any sleep is better than none."

"Indeed, especially in your condition," Joe agreed.

Lila nodded her head. "I'm going to run to the restroom, then I'll be back so you can head home if you'd like."

"I'm in no hurry" said Joey. "Really. I'd like to stay here until Mom and Dad get back. Grandpa was wheezing so they had to wait for Aunt Linda to come over first.

"Okay, I'll be right back, I have to pee again, one of them is on my bladder."

Joey laughed, "When you get back, I think I'll go find a coffee machine."

"That's fine," Lila nodded. Joey could be annoying but he was a great big brother.

A couple moments later, Lila returned and Joe went in search of coffee. Lila once again stood at Steven's bedside and talked to him, knowing in her heart he could sense her presence.

"Okay, Smokey, this coma stuff is getting really old really fast, so why don't you wake up for me, okay? I know you can hear me, Steven, I know it. Now, prove it to me and wake up."

Nothing.

"Damn it, Steven, don't do this to me!" cried Lila. "You have to wake up, do you hear me? I'm trying to believe that you're going to pull through this, but the longer I stand here and have to listen to the incessant beeping of these monitors instead of the sound of your voice, the more scared I get!"

She paused for a second to calm down and catch her breath, still believing that he could hear her and that he knew she was upset. The doctor had said it wasn't good for him to know she was upset, so she had to try and control her emotions, which by that time had far more control over her than the other way around.

She took a deep breath and continued to talk to him.

"I'm thinking back on our honeymoon in California, but I should know by now that you're all about surprises."

Still no response, but she kept talking.

"Do you remember our walk along the beach that Saturday night? Gosh, you looked so handsome in that shirt we bought on the boardwalk. I'll give you credit, you've got good taste in clothing. I'll never forget that night, Steven. Just you and I, alone on that gorgeous beach. You stopped walking after a while and when I asked you why, you said it was so you could kiss me underneath the moon. Do you remember that, babe?"

Still nothing.

"One minute we're kissing underneath the moon, and the next we're laying in the sand with half our clothes off. It just happened. No planning, no forethought, it just…happened. That's one thing I'm learning to love about you more every day we're together - the way you make so many wonderful things 'just happen.'"

The baby kicked, just hard enough to get Lila's attention. Still nothing from Steven. Nothing. She couldn't take it anymore.

"You listen to me, Steven Andrew Tenney!" she yelled. "I can't imagine living life without you, and I can't imagine having these babies without you being right by my side, like you promised you'd be! You always say you've never made a promise you couldn't keep, so I'm holding you to it, do you understand me! Oh, oh God…"

"Sorry it took me so long" said Joe as she walked into Steven's room. "The machine on this floor was broken, I had to go two floors up to fi- oh my God!"

 **A/N: Uh-oh. Lila's doctor has been warning her about being calm and relaxed, but her Reagan temper is out full force. Thank goodness Joey returned when he did. Will this be what it takes to bring Steven around?**

 **Next Updated – May 31** **st** **– Joey calls for help, Frank is frustrated with his limitations.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Joe found Lila in a heap on the floor beside Steven's bed. He immediately pressed the nurse call button.

"Can I help you?" said the voice on the other end.

"We need a doctor in here right away!" said Joe urgently. "My sister collapsed! She's pregnant! Hurry!"

"We'll be right there!" said the nurse. Within 30 seconds, Steven's room was a buzz of activity, all revolving around his wife and their unborn children, and he was oblivious to it all.

The nurses worked on Lila, paging the OB resident on call while Joey rushed to the phone to call their parents. Frank picked up the phone, Jamie and Eddie was sleeping, two exhausted heaps on the sofa.

"Grandpa, Mom and Dad have to come right now. Lila…she passed out and Steven…he's still being useless even if it isn't his fault. They have to come!"

"Calm down, son, take a breath. I'll wake them up but you have to get it together for your sister and those babies. She needs you Joe, you're all she's got until your folks arrive. They were both pretty exhausted. I'll have one call when they are up."

Frank hurried to wake Jamie and Eddie while Joey headed to the maternity department to check on and watch over his little sister.

"Wh-what happened?" Lila asked groggily as she woke up and realized she was in a hospital bed with an ID band on her wrist.

"You collapsed, Mrs. Tenney," said yet another different nurse. "Your brother found you next to your husband's bed and called for help."

"Is Steven okay? Did he wake up yet?" Lila asked excitedly.

"He's still stable, ma'am, but he hasn't come out of the coma yet."

"I have to get back to him" said Lila as she started getting out of her bed.

"Whoa! You're not going anywhere, Mrs. Tenney" said the nurse. "We've got to get your blood pressure under control. It was through the roof when we got you up here."

"My blood pressure? It's probably just from getting so upset, I'm fine now," insisted Lila, still trying to get out of her bed.

"Sorry, no can do, ma'am," said the nurse. "You've got pre-eclampsia, which means if we can't get your pressures under control and keep them there, you'll very likely deliver your babies 10 weeks early."

"I can't have the babies now! It's way too early, and Steven…" Lila began to sob uncontrollably. The nurse wrapped a compassionate arm around Lila and let her cry.

"It's okay, Mrs. Tenney, you've had a very rough night, you haven't eaten or slept nearly enough, and this much stress would be hard on anyone, let alone someone 30 weeks pregnant."

"Are the babies okay?" asked Lila as she reached for a tissue.

"So far, the babies are fine," assured the nurse as she nodded to the fetal monitors next to Lila's bed. "We're watching their heart rates to make sure everything is okay, but we need to get you calmed down and keep a very close eye on those pressures."

"When can I go back to see Steven?" asked Lila, hating the idea that he might wake up and not see her there.

"The doctor should be back in to check on you in about 10 minutes, and we'll see what he says. I can tell you this much, though, you can't go back down there and get as upset as you were before."

"Understood," said Lila. "I don't know what happened. I was talking to him, you know, hoping he could hear me and that he'd wake up if he knew I was there, and then I got a terrible headache and the next thing I knew, I was in here."

"Well, according to Mr. Tenney's nurse, you were yelling at him to not make a promise he couldn't keep, or something to the like, and then they didn't hear you yelling anymore, so chances are that's what got you so worked up that you collapsed." Lila remembered something about promises, and knew that was probably what sent her over the edge.

"I'll do my best to calm down and stay that way. I just really need to be there when he wakes up."

"We'll see what we can do about that, ma'am" said the nurse. "In the meantime, why don't you have a little snack, it'll make you feel better."

"That'd be great," said Lila, realizing she was pretty hungry.

"What would you like?" asked the nurse.

"Some vanilla ice cream and some apple juice sounds great," said Lila.

"I'll be right back with that, ma'am," replied the nurse.

Lila laid in bed and watched the babies' heartbeats on the monitor. She tried to focus all her thoughts there instead of letting them wander down paths better left alone. She smiled at the nurse when she returned with the ice cream and juice.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Tenney," she replied. "Your brother is outside. I'll send him in."

Joey sat down beside Lila, taking her in for a hug, "You scared me," he scolded lightly. "I called Mom and Dad, they are on their way. Grandpa just called. Aunt Linda and Uncle Danny are there with him so Mom and Dad can focus here. I called Sean, he's off duty in a half hour and he's going to come and look at Steven's ER notes and talk to his doctors. How about you eat your snack, the lie back and rest. I'll be right here." Joey brushed her hair back from her forehead.

Lila nodded, "I hope you didn't worry them. Mom's just starting to feel really good…"

"Lila, if I didn't call them you know what they'd do…What about the Tenneys?"

"Dad called them, but he didn't say much about it after," Lila sighed. "Dad's tried so hard to help them fix it, he really did…"

Joey continued talking lightly while Lila ate. Shortly after she finished her snack, the on-call OB, Dr. Marcel, came in to talk with her.

"You gave us quite a scare, Mrs. Tenney," he said.

"Sorry, Doc," Lila replied. "I take it you've been told about the situation with my husband?"

"Yes, I have, and I'm very sorry you've had to deal with that. Is he okay?"

"He will be," said Lila confidently. "But he's still in a coma and if he doesn't wake up very soon, they'll have to do another CAT scan to check for a brain bleed."

"Well, I know you want to get back down there to be with him" said Dr. Marcel. "But in order for me to let you do that, you have to promise me you'll do a couple of things."

"Anything," said Lila, giving Joey a sharp look warning him to keep his mouth shut. Joey had no intention of arguing, he'd leave that to his parents when they arrived.

"Number one," said the doctor. "You have to stay as calm as you can. That means no more yelling at your husband or anyone else, it's not good for you or your babies."

"Okay, what else?" asked Lila.

"If your head gets to hurting at all while you're still here, I want you to have them check your blood pressure down there. If it's high, I want you to get back up here right away."

"Can do," Lila agreed. "Anything else?

"Not for right now, but you do need to make an appointment with your OB/GYN to let him or her know what happened and that they need to very closely monitor your blood pressure for the remainder of your pregnancy. We don't want to see a repeat of tonight."

"How bad was it?" asked Lila, not completely understanding the severity of the situation.

"Let me put it this way, Mrs. Tenney," said Dr. Marcel. "You were 2 minutes away from being prepped for a crash C-section."

Lila dissolved into tears for the umpteenth time. "I'm sorry…"

Joey rubbed Lila's back as the doctor delivered the news, "It's all right, it's all right. Everything is fine now…The babies are fine, you lie back and rest, be calm…"

Lila knew she had to do as the doctor said, but with Steven still comatose, it was going to be a challenge.

"Lila?" Eddie pushed the door open to the door of Lila's hospital room. "Oh, honey…" Eddie hurried over and hugged Lila to her chest. "Are you okay? How do you feel?

"I'm fine, I want to go be with Steven, but they won't let me yet. Mom, they said I almost had to have the babies."

Eddie raised her eyebrow, "Some of these doctors," Joey sighed. "Telling her to be calm then blurt out she almost had to give birth to twin preemies."

"Joseph," Jamie warned from the doorway.

"Dad, come on, that's kind of a silly thing to say to someone that is in the hospital for high blood pressure, but I guess she has to know what's at stake, right?"

"Yes," Jamie sighed. Joey was getting a little excitable, so Jamie thought quickly, "Perhaps you'd be better off helping us by sitting with Steven. Mom and I will update you on Lila. Go on, son."

Joey knew when he was dispatched. Kissing Lila's head, he left her with their parents. Eddie had already dropped the back of the bed and was stroking Lila's hair. Lila smiled, there was nothing quite like your mother nursing you when you were sick.

Back at the house, Danny and Linda had their hands full with a protective Grandpa Reagan. "Dad, you don't need to be back down at the hospital picking up all kinds of germs. When Lila has the babies, that's fine but…" Danny reasoned.

"Joey said she was unconscious on the floor, my little Lila! How can I just sit here?"

"Frank," Linda sighed. "Dad, listen…you aren't going to be do Lila any good getting her more upset. She needs to be calm and quiet, worrying about you getting sick won't be good for her. You can call her for a few minutes later. For now…why don't we sit back and say a prayer for Lila, Steven, and the babies, that's what they need."

Frank sighed, Linda was right, his being there would upset and worry his granddaughter, so he got out the old rosary, wrapped it around his hand and with his oldest son and daughter-in-law on either side, Frank prayed.

 **A/N: Lila must start taking it easy and I think Joey is going to have a word or two with Steven seeing he doesn't find much use for his brother-in-law on a good day.**

 **Next Update – June 2** **nd** **– Lila learns Steven's fate.**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They kept Lila upstairs on the maternity floor for over 3 hours, until they were satisfied with her blood pressure and the babies' heart rates. As soon as Dr. Marcel gave the okay, she found the nearest elevator and returned to Steven's room with Jamie and Eddie on her heels.

"Joey? You're still here?"

"I wasn't going to leave him here alone, Lila" Joe replied.

Lila gave Joe a warm hug. "Are you okay? Why did that happen? Do you know?"

"Oh, I know why it happened," Lila replied. "And so does the doctor and the nurses and pretty much everyone on both these floors, but the fact is I can't let it happen again or they're going to take the babies early and I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen."

"Well, you just let me know what I can do to help" offered Joe. "And consider it done."

"Thanks, Joe" replied Lila.

"Glad to help where I can," said Joey, looking at Jamie, still upset he'd been ordered away from his sister.

"Has his doctor been in since I've been gone?" asked Lila as she sat down in the recliner.

"Yeah, he was in a little while ago," answered Joe.

"And…?" prodded Lila.

"He wasn't pleased that Steven hasn't woken up yet," stated Joe solemnly.

Lila took a few deep, relaxing breaths while Eddie held tight to her hand. "So, did he order another CAT scan?"

"Yeah, he did" Sean spoke up as he stepped into the room after consulting with Steven's physician. "But it didn't show anything more than the first one. I just read both scans and there's not indication of a brain bleed anywhere."

"So what does that mean?" asked Lila hugging her cousin. "Thank you so much for coming."

"Well, it means we're still going on the assumption that there's no bleeding anywhere in Steven's brain, but sometimes there can be an area of bleeding that's so small it takes several days to show up."

"So he could be like this for several more days?" asked Lila, feeling herself getting upset. She took a few more deep breaths and focused on keeping calm. Jamie moved to her side and put his arms around both Eddie and Lila.

"It's possible, Lila. What we need to do is remain optimistic that there's no hidden bleeding and that this is just a really bad concussion that's Would you suggest a different test?"

"If Steven doesn't wake up by tomorrow morning, the best thing to do is order another CAT scan. Aside from that, nothing." Sean felt bad that he couldn't give Lila any better news.

"Why don't we go and get some breakfast and leave these two alone for a while?"

"That'd be nice" said Lila. "I'll stay calm, I promise."

"I know you will, Lila" said Joe as he headed for the cafeteria. "Maybe there'll be some good news waiting for me when I get back."

"We can hope" replied Lila. Joe left the room with Jamie, Eddie, and Sean while Lila took a seat in the chair where Joe had kept vigil while she was upstairs.

"Hey, handsome," she said softly as she looked at his still bruised face. "Did you miss me?" There was no answer, but somehow she knew he had.

"Sorry I was gone," she said. "Apparently it's not a good thing for a woman who's 30 weeks pregnant to get quite as upset as I've been since last night. We're okay, though, the babies and I, so don't worry about us - just concentrate on waking up."

Lila took a hold of Steven's hand, lifted it to her lips and kissed it. "I love you," she whispered. She caught sight of her wedding ring as it glistened atop her left hand.

"Well, hello, little ones," she said as she felt the babies kick. "Here," she said, taking Steven's hand and placing it on her tummy. "Can you do that again, for daddy?" It took a few moments, but one of the babies gave her another good, strong kick in the same place as before. Lila smiled, her instincts telling her that Steven knew what was going on.

"You almost missed the babies' birthday, did you know that? Well, I should say the babies' birthday almost came 10 weeks earlier than planned, but that's all taken care of now."

Lila held onto his hand and looked down at the floor, concentrating on not getting upset.

"It was scary, Steven. They had me hooked up to a monitor and wouldn't let me out of the bed, and the doctor said I came way too close to having an emergency C-section last night. I'm so glad that didn't happen, mostly because the babies are not ready yet, but also because I can't imagine either of us missing the birth, let alone both of us."

Lila felt a tiny squeeze of her hand, so tiny she almost missed it.

"Steven!" Lila jumped up from her chair. "Steven, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand again, babe! Come on, I know you can do it!"

She felt another squeeze. She reached around and pressed the nurse call button.

"Can I help you?" said the answering nurse.

"Yes!" exclaimed Lila, "Steven is waking up!"

"I'll page the doctor right away," replied the nurse. "Are his eyes open?"

"Not yet," Lila answered with excitement. "But he squeezed my hand twice and I know he's close to opening his eyes!"

"Okay, Mrs. Tenney, we'll be right there."

"Thank you!" replied Lila, turning her attention back to Steven.

"Okay Smokey," Lila whispered. "I need you to open your eyes for me. Come on, let's see those gorgeous baby blues."

Nothing.

"Wake up, Steven, come on, babe, please wake up." Just then, Dr. Stephenson and his nurse entered the room.

"You said he squeezed your hand?" asked the doctor.

"Twice!" answered Lila. "And he's _this_ close to opening his eyes, I just know it."

"That's altogether possible, Mrs. Tenney," said the doctor. "The hand squeezing is an excellent sign, but we can't get too excited until his eyes are open and we can assess his cognitive functions."

"Speak for yourself, Doctor," retorted Lila, a little put out at the doctor's definition of what did and didn't warrant excitement. "I know Steven better than anyone in the world, and I'm telling you he's very close to breaking out of this coma."

"I hope you're correct, Mrs. Tenney. I really do. I'll be back in another hour or so, unless there's a change in his condition before then."

"Fine," said Lila, having to focus extra hard at remaining calm. Once they were alone again, her efforts turned back towards getting her man to open his eyes.

"Okay, Steven, I really need you to work with me here. Prove that doctor wrong, babe, come on!"

"Mmmm…" It was the first sound he'd made since the accident.

"Steven! Steven I'm here, wake up and talk to me!"

He very slowly opened his eyes. At first he just stared straight up, squinting from the light.

"Steven! Can you see me?" asked Lila, fighting with every word to keep from getting too excited and sending her blood pressure back up.

He painstakingly turned his head towards her, his eyes still open and a blank stare on his face. After what seemed like an eternity…

"Lila," he said groggily, the slightest of smiles coming to his face.

"Steven," she replied, losing her fight to keep from crying. "How do you feel?"

"Head….hurts….bad.," he moaned. "What…happened?"

"You were in a car accident last night," answered Lila. "You've been unconscious since you got here."

"You…okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, babe. You were alone in the car. I came here as soon as the police called me, just like would for me."

"Pain…all…over." Steven grimaced. He didn't remember anything after Lila left the apartment angry. She looked so beautiful.

"I know, love. You have a couple of bruised ribs from where the seatbelt did it's job, and your knees are pretty banged up from slamming into the dashboard."

"That….all?" he asked.

"Except for the airbag bruise" she said.

"Didn't…know…I…was…so…pretty." said Steven.

"Oh boy, always the jokester, huh?" Lila laughed.

"Love…you…too" he said. Just then, the nurse came in to check on him.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant turn of events?" exclaimed the nurse upon realizing Steven was awake. "Let me go page the doctor, I'll be right back."

"He's going to be pleased to see you awake and talking," said Lila.

"Good," said Steven. "Sit…up?"

"Maybe we should wait until the doctor comes in and see what he says." Lila stroked his hair back while they waited for the doctor to arrive. Once Steven was examined, she'd tell her parents and Joey the news. They would be back from the cafeteria any minute.

"See what I say about what?" asked Dr. Stephenson as he entered the room.

"He wants to sit up in the bed. Is that okay?" Lila didn't want to cause any more damage.

"Sure" said the doctor. "Let's do it this way" and as he pushed a button on the side of the bed, the head began to slowly rise, easing Steven into a semi-sitting position.

"AH!" yelled Steven just as the bed came to a stop.

"What's wrong!" exclaimed Lila.

"Hurts!" said Steven, clutching his bruised ribs.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Tenney," the doctor said to Steven. "Bruised ribs are extremely painful, but it's important that we get you sitting up as much as we can to try and alleviate your risk of developing pneumonia."

"Can you give him anything for the pain?" asked Lila. She hated to see him hurting like that.

"I'll give him some IV steroids for now, to help with inflammation. And after a while, if he does well on those, we can give him something stronger for the pain, likely some Tylenol with codeine."

"Why can't we start with something stronger?" asked Lila.

"With this type of injury, we need to keep the patient as alert as possible so we can best monitor the situation. If we drug him up too much, it could mask a serious situation."

Lila nodded in understanding and rested her free hand on her belly to soothe her anxious babies.

"I need to run through a few quick things with him right now, and then we'll get the meds going."

"Okay," replied Lila, stepping back a bit so the doctor could get to Steven. He held up 2 fingers, and asked Steven if he could see them and how many there were.

"Two," said Steven, his voice indicative of the pain he was in.

"Good!" answered the doctor. "Any ringing in your ears, anything like that?"

"No."

"Do you have a headache?"

"You're kidding right?" Steven laughed. He had the mother of all headaches

"On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the worst," said the doctor "How bad is the pain?"

"Five," said Steven. Lila wasn't fooled, she could tell her was hurting a lot more than he was letting on.

"Okay," said the doctor. "We'll get you going on some steroids real soon and that should help your head a lot. I'll give you a little while to rest here in bed, and then I need you to try getting up and walking around if you can."

"Is that really necessary to do so soon?" asked Lila. "He's only been conscious for half an hour and he's in a lot of pain. Can't the walking wait awhile?"

"Sure, it can wait, Mrs. Tenney," replied the doctor, "I'd just like to see him at least try to get up and walk from the bed to the recliner sometime before dinner, okay?"

"We can give it a try, sure" replied Lila. "Can he have the meds now?"

"I'm writing the order as we speak" said Dr. Stephenson.

"Thank you" said Lila. The doctor finished making notes in Steven's chart, and left the room.

Jamie and Eddie appeared just a few minutes after the doctor left. "Oh, thank God!" Eddie hurried over to Steven and gave him a gentle hug. "We are so glad to see you awake, honey. You scared us."

"Sorry, Mom," Steven replied. "Dad…I'm sorry for the trouble…'

"Nonsense, Son, you get your rest. Everything is fine. I spoke to Aunt Erin, Grandpa is doing fine, I told him that you are fine…there's no reason for anyone to be so excited."

"What'll I have to do to get out of here?" Steven asked, his voice remaining weak and quiet, not quite picking up on Jamie's soft order to Lila.

"I'm not sure of everything just yet," said Lila. "But I know you'll have to do your breathing exercises to the satisfaction of the doctor or you're stuck here forever." She smiled a little, knowing beyond any doubt Steven wouldn't spend a second longer than necessary in that place.

"Okay Mr. Tenney, we've got some meds for you," said a nurse as she entered the room with a drug pump.

"Good" replied Steven. The nurse proceeded to set up the machine next to the bed and connect it to Steven's IV. She punched in a code and locked the box when she was finished.

"Here you go" she said, handing Steven a small button connected to the machine. "It's all ready to go, just press the button when you want a dose, and if it's been at least 7 minutes since the last dose, the machine will dispense the programmed amount through your IV."

"Sounds great" said Steven. "Can I have some now?"

"I pressed it right before I handed it to you," answered the nurse. "But in about 5 minutes you can press it again, just look for this little light to go off." She pointed to a small indicator light on the Machine, which showed that the required time between doses hadn't expired.

"Five minutes it is," said Steven, his body beginning not feeling any relief as of yet.

"Thank you," said Lila, as the nurse left the room. She turned to Steven, his eyes once again closed.

"We'll give the steroids a little time, then we need to get you up out of this bed, okay?"

"Okay," he replied. "Lila?"

"Yeah, babe?" she answered.

"I love you" he said, opening his eyes slowly and looking into hers.

"We love you, too" replied Lila, and she placed Steven's hand on her tummy as the babies tumbled about.

 **A/N: So Steven is awake and Lila and the little babies are doing all right. It's been a while since I thanked my reviewers for their loyalty. I have begun writing the fifth installment of this series and I think it's going to be one of the most interesting yet.**

 **Next Update – June 4** **th** **– Steven learns of Lila's near delivery and receives some surprise visitors.**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

"We're so glad you're awake and feeling better Steven," Linda told the young man as she and Danny paid a visit.

"Did they say when you might be checking out of here?" Danny asked. "Jamie and Eddie have the spare room all set up."

"Oh, we're going to go back to our place," Steven said quickly. "We have a lot of packing to do."

"You will have our help there, you shouldn't be doing anything until those ribs are healed and Lila isn't in any condition to do it. You don't worry about that at all, we'll have you ready for your move."

Before Steven could protest, "Time to recheck your vitals, Steven," said the nurse as she entered Steven's room, pulling a portable blood pressure machine behind her. He'd only been awake for about 12 hours, and still felt pretty rotten.

"Okay," said Steven.

"Are the steroids helping any?" the nurse asked as she set up machines to check his progress.

"Yeah, some," replied Steven.

"I'm so glad to see you sitting in the chair," said the nurse. "That's real progress!"

"That's what I keep telling him" said Linda. "I have seen so many MVAs over the years as a nurse but he doesn't see it."

"Listen to your Mom," said the nurse as she fastened the cuff on his arm and started the machine. "It's a small thing, but you've got several small things you have to do to heal up enough to go home."

"This isn't my Mom, this is Lila's aunt and uncle, Linda and Danny. Linda was a trauma nurse for a lot of years. She was just telling me about that breathing thing," said Steven, referring to the small, plastic breathing meter they'd given him a short while earlier. It had a mouthpiece and a small hose on it, and he'd been instructed to breathe into it and make the little floating indicator inside rise to a specified level. It didn't look like fun considering his bruised ribs, and he was dreading it.

"That's super important. We don't want to see you develop pneumonia." The nurse placed a thermometer in Steven's mouth, and made note of the reading a few seconds later.

"I know," said Steven, "I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to manage that thing in this condition."

"You can do it, babe," Lila reassured stroked the back of his head. "We'll just take it slow at first and as you get stronger, you'll be able to do it, no problem."

"Alright, Lila, your turn." Lila looked over at Steven, knowing what the next words out of his mouth would be. She was thankful for her aunt and uncle to cushion his reaction.

"Your turn?" he asked. "Why?"

Linda looked up at Danny, "I think this is the time when we go and get Lila and Steven some tea…" Danny sputtered, wanting to make sure that Steven did not come down hard on her but Linda shoved him out giving the couple their space.

Lila sighed as she held out her arm for the nurse. "I had a little problem with my blood pressure yesterday and they want to keep an eye on it."

"What kind of problem?" asked Steven, terribly concerned for his wife and unborn babies.

"I had to spend several hours upstairs on the maternity floor after Joe found me passed out next to your bed," Lila admitted.

"What!" exclaimed Steven? "What happened?"

"Apparently my blood pressure got so high from all the stress that I passed out," answered Lila. "They took me upstairs and put me on a fetal monitor and kept a close watch on my pressures and the babies' heart rates. When they were satisfied with both, they let me come back down here with the understanding that they'd be checking my pressures down here and if they went too high, I had to go back upstairs."

"Are you okay?! The babies?!"Steven looked ready to leap out of bed.

"We're all fine, babe, I promise" said Lila, reaching out to hold his hand. "The doctor last night said I've got what they call pre-eclampsia, which just means while I'm pregnant we have to really closely monitor my blood pressure."

"Looks good for now, Lila" said the nurse as she removed the cuff from Lila's arm. "I'll leave you two alone for a while." She quietly stepped out of the room.

"What if it goes that high again?" asked Steven, the concern on his face enough to make Lila want to cry.

"If they can't get it under control, then they'd have to deliver the babies," Lila explained. "But it's been okay, even Dad isn't worried so…"

"Did they talk about delivering the baby last night?" Steven asked Lila only to have her turn away from him.

"Lila, look at me!" insisted Steven. "Did they?"

Lila nodded her head. "It was close, Steven. _Really_ close."

"How close?" he asked, needing to know as much as possible about the ordeal.

"2 minutes," replied Lila, so softly she could barely be heard.

"2 minutes?" asked Steven. "So if your pressures hadn't come down when they did, you would have had the babies last night?"

Lila nodded.

"Lila, I'm so sorry" said Steven. "I should have been there for you and I-" She cut him off.

"No, Steven, don't apologize," she said. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I let myself get spun up out of control and not only was I not here for you but I put our babies in danger and we both almost missed the birth and…" She began to cry.

"Hey," said Steven, holding his hands out to embrace hers. "Let's not dwell on it, on what might have happened. We've got enough to deal with without getting upset over how the babies _almost_ came early and how we both _almost_ missed the birth, okay? That didn't happen, any of it, and you're still fine and the babies are still safe and sound in there, and in another couple months, we'll get to have the birth we've looked forward to all this time."

Lila sobbed as she listened to his words. He was right, but then he often was.

"Yes, we will, and it'll be amazing, huh?"

"You know it will," answered Steven, appearing to feel a little bit better.

"Oh hey," said Lila, wiping away a few remaining tears, "Mom said she, Aunt Erin and Aunt Linda have got our baby shower almost totally planned. How cool is that!"

"Pretty cool," answered Steven. "Does my mom know about that yet?"

"Do I know about what?" Maura asked as she stepped into Steven's room. "That you somehow got yourself in the hospital ten weeks before becoming a father, yes I do know, Commission Reagan called us."

Steven sat up a little straighter, "Mom! Dad!"

"Hello, Son," Joshua greeted. "Lila, how are you feeling?"

"A little tired," Lila replied. "But pretty good otherwise." She didn't want to say anything about her pre-eclampsia to her still untrusted in-laws.

"And the infants, they are growing?" Maura asked. "If I didn't know you were due in September I would say you were overdue."

Lila put her hand on her belly, "Well sometimes I feel like I'm overdue. Do you two want time alone with Steven?"

"No, honey," Joshua replied. "We have to apologize to the both of you for how we acted. Lila, a few months ago, your father and I had a talk about how things went and I made him a promise that I would not involve you or the babies in our family dramas. I am sorry for everything, we both are."

Lila took a breath, both of her parents were known for holding a grudge but she didn't want to make anything worse for Steven or her babies, "Let's put it in the past, your grandchildren are coming soon and like it or not we are going to keep our babies and my parents are going to help us until we are able stand on our own. If that is a deal breaker for you, then I am sorry."

Maura sighed, "We wish that you waited but that wasn't in the greater plan, we will try to come to terms with this. I'm just so glad that you're all right." Maura moved closer and held Steven. Lila's eyes misted over and a few tears fell. She was so close to her own parents it was so hard to see her husband in a rift with his.

"Well, we don't want to keep you from your rest, we'll stop back tomorrow," Joshua said still a little stiff. He was still reeling from the ill-fated coffee meeting where Steven showed his father he had the father's instinct as well.

"Thanks for coming, Mom, Dad," Steven smiled. "See you tomorrow."

Lila smiled and kissed Steven's head, "That was really nice. Mom said they are going to be invited to the shower so I hope they come, and I hope you have your strength back enough to enjoy it."

"Speaking of strength, I guess I need to work on that stupid thing, huh?" He pointed to the breathing meter sitting on the shelf by the window.

"Yeah, you do," replied Lila. She handed it to him, and he gave it all he could, determined to meet all his requirements for discharge by the end of the week.

Lila had no doubt he'd succeed.

 **A/N: Thanks to my regular readers and reviewers, I love to see your comments in my box! Several of you guessed Steven's folks were going to show up, you were right! Hope everyone enjoyed!**

 **Next Update – June 6** **th** **– Baby shower time! It's an extra long chapter this time around.**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

"I'm so excited, aren't you?" asked Lila jubilantly as she and Steven walked hand-in-hand towards the familiar front door of the Reagan house, the site of their long-awaited baby shower along with so many other family gatherings. The previous few weeks had been really tough on them, dealing with Steven's accident and Lila's blood pressure issues, and they were really looking forward to a fun afternoon with their family and friends.

"I sure am," said Steven. "But I still don't get the whole 'couples shower' thing. I thought showers were for women."

"They can be for whoever the people involved want them to be for," explained Lila. "Aunt Linda asked me if I thought you wanted to be a part of it, and I knew you did so I told her to plan it for couples."

"I'm glad you did that, babe," said Steven. "I would've understood if they'd made it just for the women, but I'm glad I can be here and share in the fun." He leaned down and kissed her as they reached to open the door. "Hello, we're here!" Lila called out.

"Hi!" exclaimed Eddie as she hurried to welcomed the guests of honor. "Everyone is mingling in the living room, so go on in and say hi, and we'll get started shortly."

"Thanks, Mom. It smells great in here!" Lila gave Eddie a warm hug.

"Can I get either of you anything?" asked Eddie.

"I'd love a bottle of water, please," replied Lila. "Anything for you, babe?"

"Water would be great, Mom. Thanks." answered Steven. "

"Coming right up, Steven" said Eddie as she went to get the waters. Steven and Lila entered the living room, and were amazed to see so many friendly faces waiting to greet them - Erin, Danny and Linda, Steven's best friend Sully and Lila's friend from school Maria, to name a few, and it took no time at all for Maura to descend upon he parents-to-be. Maura was determined to earn her way back into her son's good graces.

"Hi, Mom," said Steven, giving her a big hug. He wanted to bury that hatchet too and provide his babies with two sets of doting grandparents along with a sweet and sour great grandpa.

"Hi, son," replied Maura. "It's so good to see you up and about like this!" She hadn't seen him since two days after he'd gone home from the hospital, and he'd made amazing progress since then.

"I'm glad I can be up and about," Steven laughed. "Especially for this. Eddie puts on a great party.

Maura nodded, "The potato puffs are so good and these a very interesting meet dish…" Maura turned her attention to her daughter-in-law. "Lila, honey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling really good," replied Lila. "We're really excited about today, and we're so glad you both could make it."

"We wouldn't have dreamed of missing it," said Joshua, stepping in to hug the couple.

"Lila's right. We're really glad you're here." As the conversation drew to a close, Jamie approached the group.

"Hey, Dad," said Lila as she gave him a hug.

"Hello, Kitten," Jamie replied holding her tight. "Joshua and Maura, please join Eddie and I when it's time to eat and Dad of course." Jamie wanted to bridge the gap as well. "How are you feeling Steven?"

"Much better, we are ready to go when Eddie is."

"This all looks great, I know you had to have help with all these decorations." The whole room was decorated in a Winnie the Pooh baby shower theme. There were pink, blue and yellow streamers all across the ceiling, and tons of balloons to match. The table covers had an adorable scene of Pooh and Piglet looking at a little baby chick as it hatched from its shell. The centerpiece on the food table was a 3D image of the same Pooh and Piglet scene, and across the top it said "Hello, little friend". Erin had asked Lila for the baby book earlier in the week, and it was laid out next to the gift table, opened to a page for shower guests to sign in.

"Yeah," grouched Danny. "Erin and Linda roped me into being the one to climb on the step stool and tack all the streamers and balloons up."

"Sorry about that, Uncle Danny" said Lila with a chuckle.

"No, I didn't mind at all!" replied Danny. "I was happy to help." Danny didn't want to be on the receiving end of his wife's wrath for upsetting his niece.

"Glad to hear it," said Steven shaking the older man's hand.

"So, how are you doing?" Danny asked him.

"Doing pretty good," said Steven. "A little better each day."

"I'm so glad" said Danny. "How are your injuries healing up, pretty well?"

"Yeah, pretty well," replied Steven. "My ribs are still sore if I move wrong, and my knees still hurt a lot if I walk too far or stand too long, but aside from that I'm feeling good."

"Well here, sit down!" exclaimed Jamie, pulling a chair over for Steven. Jamie knew a thing or two about unreliable legs.

"I'm fine Dad, really" insisted Steven, "But thanks." Joshua's eyebrow went up at hearing Steven call Jamie "Dad."

"Well how about you both go sit in the chairs we've got for you, that way I won't feel bad for making you stand up," suggested Danny."

"Okay, we'll go sit down" said Lila. "I assume those are our chairs?" she asked, pointing to the 2 chairs near the gift table which had huge Mylar balloons tied to them, one reading "Mommy-to-Bee", the other "Daddy-to-Bee", and they had Pooh on them with a little bumblebee on his nose.

"Those are yours! I'm going to go see if they need any help in the kitchen," Linda replied as she buzzed by to go and help Eddie.

As Steven and Lila made their way to their seats, they were greeted by another very familiar and friendly face.

"Sully!" exclaimed Lila, reaching out to hug the man who'd seen she and Steven through so much in the course of their relationship.

Sully pulled Lila into a strong hug. "Don't you just look wonderful?"

"Thank you, Sully," said Lila. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Well, why the hell not?" inquired Sully. "I've been watching this unfold since the beginning. I wouldn't miss it!"

"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" asked Eddie. The chatter quieted down and all eyes turned to her as she stood in the center of the room.

"I think everyone is here, so we'll go ahead and get started. I know from personal experience that many baby shower games can be silly and aggravating, so we've come up with a few we hope will actually be fun." Molly and Joe went around the circle and passed out sheets of paper and pens.

"Okay, here's how this game goes," said Eddie. "Everyone needs to write down a problem that Steven and Lila might have with the babies, and a solution to the problem. It can be anything from a big problem to a simple one - use your imagination! Go ahead and do that, we'll give you about 5 minutes, and then we'll tell you the next step."

"Hey, no peeking," said Lila as she caught Steven trying to look over her shoulder.

"I'm not peeking," he insisted with a smile. "I'm merely checking your creativity."

"You're so full of it, Steven," said Lila, smiling back at him.

"Is everyone finished?" asked Eddie after 5 minutes. "Okay, now, I need everyone to tear their papers in half to where you have a piece with only the problem on it and a piece with only the solution. After you do that, I want you to pass your problem piece three people to your left, and your solution piece four people to your right. When we're done, you should have 2 pieces that don't belong to you."

"Oh boy," said Lila. "I know where this is going."

"Where?" asked Steven.

"You'll see," she said. "It should be funny."

"Okay, now for the fun part. We'll start at this end with Linda, and you need to read the problem on your list and then the solution. Go ahead, Linda."

" _A problem Steven and Lila might have with the babies is:_ it cries all hours of the night. _To solve this problem, they:_ leave the house an hour earlier. That doesn't make any sense!"

"It's not supposed to," laughed Erin. That's what makes it fun!"

"I see," said Linda. "Well, maybe the next person will have something funnier."

"I guess that would be me," said Danny. "Let's see, _A problem Steven and Lila might have with the babies is:_ they run out of diapers. _To solve this problem, they:_ buy the baby some bigger shoes." The entire room roared with laughter.

"Just so you know Steven, bigger shoes won't help if you run out of diapers!" joked Jamie.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," laughed Steven.

"That was a good one, Danny!" laughed Eddie. "Okay, Erin, go ahead."

"Okay," said Erin excitedly. " _A problem Steven and Lila might have with the babies is:_ it spits up everything they feed it. _To solve this problem, they:_ send the baby to grandma's. That's funny!"

"Hey, you never know," said Lila. "It just might happen!"

"Fine with me!" exclaimed Eddie. "That's why you bought a house so close."

The group continued with the rest of the game, and played another involving a listing of different TV show children from past and present, matching the right kids to the right parents. After that, it was time for gifts…

Erin took a seat next to Steven with a legal pad and pen in her grasp. Linda stood next to the gift table on the other side of Lila allowing Eddie watch he presents being opened and get off her feet for a little while.

"I'll hand you the gifts" said Linda. "And you can open them however you want. Erin will make note of everything you get and who gave it, and we'll pass it around the circle so everyone can see it."

"That sounds like a good plan," replied Lila.

"Works for me," seconded Steven. "Let's get started!"

Linda handed Lila the first package, and Lila turned to Steven to see if he wanted to do the honors.

"No, you go ahead, babe."

"You have to open some of these" said Lila. "I'm not going to have all the fun!"

"Okay, we can take turns," offered Steven. "Will that work?"

"Yeah," said Lila, as she began to tear the paper from the package.

"Awwwww…" she said as she laid eyes upon the contents, a package of sleepers and a pair of baby booties.

"Thank you, Nikki," said Lila. "They're adorable!"

"They sure are," said Steven, reaching out to hug Nikki as she approached.

"You're welcome," said Nikki. "I'm glad you like them."

"Here you go, Steven," said Linda as she handed him a large gift bag from the table.

"Thanks," he said, setting it on the floor at his feet and carefully removing the tissue paper. He pulled out two hand-made baby quilts with Pooh Bear on them.

"Oh, wow," he said.

"That's just gorgeous!" said Lila. "Is this your handy work?" she asked, looking directly at her aunt.

"Yes, it is" admitted Erin. "I saw the pattern in a crafters magazine. Everyone on the planes loved it. I hope you do too."

"It's great, Erin," said Steven. The babies no doubt love them."

"I'm glad you both like them," said Erin with a smile.

"Next," said Linda, passing Lila a smaller gift bag. Lila peeked inside and squealed "Oh my gosh!" before pulling out two stuffed bears. One was outfitted in a fireman's uniform, complete with the trademark hat, the other dressed in NYPD dress blues.

"Now _those_ are cute," said Steven. "Who are they from?" Before Lila could look at the tag on the gift bag, the giver spoke up.

"They're from Linda and me," said Danny. "Squeeze their tummies." Steven handed Lila the police bear, and he gave the tummy of the firefighter one a squeeze. A soft, digital version of the Superman theme filled the room.

"Need we guess what this one plays?" laughed Lila as she held up the Marine bear. After "Superman" had finished, a gentle press of the tummy on her bear elicited an adorable, lullaby-type tune of "New York, New York."

"Perfect choice, Danny, Linda," said Steven. "Thanks."

"Hey, buddy," replied Danny. "We've got to give these kids equal exposure to both, you know?"

"Oh, believe me," assured Steven. "I know! I am definitely outnumbered, at least one of the babies will be NYPD, I hope the other will swing my way."

"Careful there, son," Jamie warned with a light hearted laugh. His hand was on Eddie's knee. Lila couldn't help but smile, her parents still couldn't get enough of each other.

"Here Steven," said Lind, passing him a mid-sized box with a huge yellow bow on top.

"What pretty wrapping" said Lila as Steven carefully removed the bow and handed it to her. He took the top off the box and pulled out a stack of baby clothes.

"I remember this," said Lila as she looked at the pink sleeper with a kitten on it.

"Yeah, me too," replied Steven with a smile.

"That's way too cute!" squealed Erin, who'd been so busy making note of who gave what, she'd hardly said a word since they began with the gifts.

"Hey!" exclaimed Jack from his perch with Rita in the back of the room "I thought you didn't know the sex of the baby!"

"We don't, Jack," assured Lila. "When we did our registry, we each chose one outfit for a boy and for a girl, this is the one I chose for a girl."

"Ah, okay" said Rita, accepting Lila's explanation without further question. "Jack made me put back all the girl stuff, he knew he was going to get it if you knew and he didn't let on."

"Hey, look here" said Steven as he pulled something from the middle of the stack. It was the bib he'd picked out with the firetruck on the front.

"Let me see now, who on earth could have chosen to register for that…?" Joshua pondered with a laugh looking at his son.

"You got me, Dad," joked Steven as he pulled an outfit from the pile. "Probably the same person who chose this little boy's outfit with a fireman on the front."

"Who's this all from, anyway?" asked Lila, looking for a tag on the package.

"It's from me," said Joe. "It's all supposed to be things you registered for, but some of the abbreviations on the printout at the store were really hard to figure out, so if I got anything wrong, you can exchange it."

"I'm sure it'll all be fine, Joe" said Steven. "Thanks for being so gracious with the fireman outfit and everything."

"You're welcome, Steven." The two men shook hands, "Well win them both over with rides in the squad cars anyway," Joe said as Linda lugged a big box from behind the gift table and put it in front of Lila.

"My goodness!" Lila exclaimed. "I can't imagine what this could be…" She tore off the pastel wrapping paper to expose a box containing a stroller.

"Is it the right one?" asked Maura.

"It sure looks like it to me," answered Steven. "It is, Lila?"

"Yep, it is!" said Lila. "We tried out a few different ones in the store and this one was the only one with handles high enough for Steven to use without slouching down."

"Okay, I'm glad I got it right," said Maura. "Joe's right, those printouts can be confusing."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way," laughed Joe.

Linda handed Steven a gift bag with baby zoo animals on it.

"Hey, neat!" he said as he removed the tissue paper and looked into the bag and saw an assortment of bottles and bottle accessories.

"You'll really like those, Lila," said Nikki. "I used the same kind and they're wonderful."

"I researched them quite a bit," said Lila. "I needed one that would work well with breastfeeding, and those always seemed to make the grade, so I went with them."

"Oh yeah," agreed Eddie. "They're great with breastfeeding, really great and they are the newer design so it'll be better than when I used them."

"This obviously means I'll be expected to take some of those 2 a.m. feedings, huh?" said a smiling Steven.

"Eventually," said Lila. "So enjoy sleeping through the night while you can, my dear!"

"Count on it!" said Steven.

"Here's another gift!" Linda dragged another large box out from behind the table.

"I think I might know what this is," said Lila as she tore the paper off a corner of the box.

"I have an idea, too," said Molly being the one that bought it. Lila continued removing the paper until the contents of the box were evident.

"The swing, cool!" said Erin. "Is that what you thought it was?"

"Yep," answered Lila. "I remembered the size and shape of the boxes from the store."

"You'll be so glad to have that," said Linda. "Our boys all loved theirs, they'd spend hours in it just happy as could be."

"Is this from you too?" Lila asked Linda.

"Nope," answered Molly. "Tis from me. The second one is on back order, I wanted them to match."

"Molly!" exclaimed Steven. "You didn't have to get us anything that big!"

"Don't be silly," retorted Molly. "I have been watchin these wee ones grow and I am so excited t see Uncle Joe change a diaper."

"Thanks, Molly," said Lila as she leaned over to give Molly a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, next," said Linda as she handed Steven an envelope. He opened it and removed the card.

"Aww, that's great," he said.

"What is it?" asked Lila.

"A gift card card, Lila" said Joe. Lila opened it and her eyes grew big as dinner plates.

"Mom, Dad!" Lila exclaimed.

"Let me see that," said Steven, taking the card from Lila's hands and reading it for himself.

"WOW!" he exclaimed.

"What is it?" questioned everyone else in the room, eager to know what the expectant couple was so amazed by.

Steven read the card aloud. "'Steven and Lila: This card is to let you know that both sets of your nursery furniture are ready to be delivered to your home at your convenience. Congratulations, Mom and Dad Reagan."

"That's so cool!" said Erin. "Jamie you always give the best gifts!"

"We try," laughed Jamie with a modest grin on his face.

"Mom, Dad, with the house…" said Lila. "This is so much more than we-"

"Nonsense" interrupted Eddie. "We wanted to get you something practical and useful, and that just seemed to fit the bill."

"We really appreciate it, guys," said Steven.

"Okay," said Linda, only a few more. She brought out a large, bulky package from the other room and put it in Steven's lap.

"It didn't fit behind the table," Linda laughed.

"Ah, okay," said Steven, squeezing the package a little.

"Just open it," said Lila, beginning to tear the paper off of it herself.

"Hey, this one's mine!" kidded Steven. Lila stuck her tongue out at him.

"Children, children," said Frank who had been quietly watching his last grandbaby prepare for motherhood, full of emotion. "I swear, those two aren't ever going to grow up," he laughed.

Steven finished unwrapping the package. "All together now," he said as he held up the gift. "Awwwww." It was the bedding sets they had chosen on their registry.

"That's too adorable!" exclaimed Linda.

"I know, I love it!" said Eddie.

"Who's it from?" asked Danny.

"Let's see here," said Lila, looking for the tag. She found it and read it to herself, then looked at Steven smiling, "Grandpa…Thank you so much."

"Well" said Linda. "That does it for the gifts. Are we ready for cake?"

"Bring it on!" said Lila. "I hope it's chocolate, is it?"

"You're in luck" said Eddie. "I know my pregnant daughter wants chocolate."

"Good, I've been craving a big piece of chocolate cake for days now," said Lila.

Everyone went into the dining room and gathered in front of the table where the cake was at. Nikki and Joe filled the stemware with sparkling cider, and asked everyone to grab a glass.

"Frank?" asked Eddie. "Would you like to give the toast?"

"I'd be honored," he replied. He thought for a few moments, then began to speak.

"I've known Lila since she was a twinkle in Jamie and Eddie's eye and Steven had been a welcome addition to our family since he and Lila met. They're two of the most special people on this earth. They're going to be amazing parents, and there's no doubt these little babies will have more love than they know what to do with. So, let's raise our glasses to the next generation of the Reagan-Tenney family and may God bless them as much as they've blessed all of us."

"That was beautiful, Dad," smiled Jamie.

"Yes, it was," said Lila, her eyes wet and teary. "Thank you."

"I meant every word of it," said Frank, giving Lila a big hug.

"Okay," said Eddie. "We need Steven and Lila up here for a picture with the cake before we cut it." The expectant parents made their way to the table, and stood behind it, holding the cake up together. Afterwards, Joe handed them a serving knife.

"Do the honors?" he asked Steven said.

Steven began to slice the cake when Lila took the knife away from him.

"I'll do it," she said. "I've seen him cut cakes, we'll be here all day!"

"What's wrong with the way I cut cakes?" he asked her, knowing she was just picking on him.

"Nothing, babe," said Lila. "You just try too hard to get every piece to be the exact same size, and it takes you forever, that's all."

"What can I say?" said Steven, "I have a few quirks!"

"Oh, I'm not even going there!" laughed Eddie. "Lila is primed and ready for quirks." Jamie had a few OCD tendencies of his own.

"Alright" said Lila. "It's all cut, so everyone dig in."

"Hold it," said Eddie, "You two get the first pieces, now choose what you want!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Steven, giving Eddie a mock salute.

As everyone was eating their cake and visiting amongst themselves, Steven decided he had something to say.

"Can I have everyone's attention for a moment?" he asked as he stood in front of the cake table.

"I want to say thank you to everyone who helped make today so special for Lila and I. We are so bless to have our wonderful family and friends throw us such a great baby shower, and I know I speak for Lila as well when I say it meant the world to us that all of you were here to celebrate with us. So, again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

"Oh, you two…" said Eddie as she gave Steven a hug and then moved on to Lila. "I love you both so much!"

"We love you too, Mom," said Lila.

"I can hardly wait to hold those little miracles!" exclaimed Frank, who'd joined the happy conversation.

"I know the feeling," said Steven meeting the old man's bright eyes. The next few weeks couldn't possibly go by fast enough for him.

 **A/N: Wow, I think that was my longest chapter yet, but I couldn't find a good place to split it. I toyed with making it a ladies only shower but the family is so close knit it seemed right everyone would be involved. Special thanks to all who actually read to the end of the chapter. Don't forget to leave a review.**

 **Next Update – June 8** **th** **– Lila and Steven prepare to move onward and upward!**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

"I had no idea we owned so much junk!" said Lila as she worked on packing the fifth box of items from the bookshelf.

"I know the feeling!" said Steven. "Remind me again why we're packing this stuff and not letting the movers do it for us?"

"Because," answered Lila. "I don't trust them to get it right. We're not packing everything ourselves, just the irreplaceable stuff."

"I do hope you're going to let them take care of all the baby stuff?" asked Steven.

"Most of it, yeah," replied Lila. "I've already boxed up the few things we're taking over ourselves, the more sentimental items."

"That's fine, babe. I'm just glad you're not insisting we take everything else – these kids already have a ton of stuff and they're not even born yet!"

"Getting close, though," smiled Lila. "Only 6 more weeks."

"Didn't Dr. Mianni say it could be any time after 4 more weeks?" asked Steven. Eddie had gone with Lila to see the doctor earlier that week, but Steven wasn't sure he was remembering the report correctly.

"Yeah, she did," replied Lila. "But I'm not actually due for another 6 weeks, and I just have a feeling these babies aren't going to come early."

"Never know. I mean, these kids _are_ half of each of us, which alone gives them a stubborn streak five miles wide. I'm betting they'll be born whenever they please, regardless of what they're 'supposed' to do."

"I can't argue with that!" said Lila with a laugh. "Okay, finally done with this stuff," she said as she taped up the last box of bookshelf items.

"Come sit down," said Steven. "You need to take it easy."

"I'll sit down if you do," she said. "You're not supposed to be doing too much either, you're not totally healed up yet."

"Okay, we'll take a little break" said Steven. "Want a drink or anything?"

"Water, please," she answered.

"Coming right up," said Steven as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water.

"Well, we're pretty much done here" said Lila. "We can leave the rest to the movers?"

"Works for me," said Steven. "That'll free up tomorrow to finish painting the nursery." They never intended to be moving this late in Lila's pregnancy, but there were a few delays in closing on the house, and then Steven's accident set them back even further.

"I can't wait to see the nursery all put together," said Lila excitedly. "When is the baby furniture being delivered?"

"Thursday," answered Steven. "I didn't want to schedule it too early in the week in case something comes up and I don't get the painting finished as soon as I'm hoping to."

"Good thinking," agreed Lila. "But you know my father and brother volunteered to help with that."

"I know and I'll take them up on that probably when it comes time to put together those cribs. What would you like for dinner?" Steven asked her. "I'll run to the store and get whatever you'd like."

"I'd love a chicken salad sandwich," said Lila. "The kind you made me before, with grapes and celery in it." Like most firefighters, Steven was an accomplished cook.

"I can do that," said Steven kissing Lila on the nose. "I'll figure out what I want when I get there." He grabbed his keys, kissed Lila and headed out the door.

Lila called Eddie while Steven was out at the grocery store. "So you and the family will meet up at the house to help with the unpacking, we'll get it all done in a day with that many hands."

"You bet honey, I talked to Dad and he's making sure that Saturday is all cleared up."

"Thanks, oh and Mom, I really need your help setting up the curio cabinet. I love how you did all your keepsakes as a story."

"I'll be glad to help, you don't overdo it packing okay. I'll see you at dinner on Wednesday."

By the time Steven got back, Lila had finished her chat with Eddie.

"What'd you get for yourself?" she asked him, sneaking a handful of grapes from the colander in the sink.

"Broccoli and cheese with rice," he said. "Looks really good."

"Yeah, it does" she agreed, popping grapes in her mouth one by one.

"How long until its ready?" she asked.

"Half an hour or so" he replied. "Why, you hungry or something?"

"Something like that," answered Lila. "We've worked hard today, especially given our conditions."

"Indeed," said Steven as he put his dinner in the oven and set the timer. "Let me get the last few things packed and out of the way while that's all cooking."

"Is there anything else in this entire apartment that you can think of that we need to pack and take over ourselves?" asked Lila as she sat on the sofa.

"I don't think so" answered Steven after a moment of thought. "I mean, all that's left is the household stuff and the furniture."

"Okay, cool" said Lila. "After we eat, we can walk through and double check though, I don't want to miss anything that's better off coming with us than going on the moving van."

"Agreed" said Steven.

About 10 minutes later, the timer beeped in the kitchen. "Hey, dinner time" he said.

"Bring it on!" said a very hungry Lila. They sat down to a relaxing and relatively quiet dinner, since both of them were exceptionally hungry from the hard days work.-

"That was delicious, babe" said Lila as she finished the last bite of her sandwich. "The balance between the grapes and the celery was perfect."

"I'm glad it was to your liking, my dear" replied Steven with a smile.

"How was your broccoli stuff?" she asked.

"Really good" he replied, "if you like that kind of stuff."

"Well, let's finish up here and take a walk through the place and see if we need to pack anything else" said Lila, finishing her last sips of iced tea.

"Okay," said Steven as he took their empty plates into the kitchen. "I guess we'll start in here?"

"Yeah" said Lila, following him into the kitchen. "I doubt there's anything in here we can't trust the movers to take care of."

"You're probably right," agreed Steven. "Next." They walked into the living room and looked over the tables, the book cases and on the walls and didn't find anything they'd missed. From there, they went down the hallway, Lila going past the bathroom while Steven stopped at it.

"You don't want to look in here?" he asked her.

Lila laughed. "Unless you've got an attachment to a bottle of shampoo that I'm unaware of, I don't think there's anything valuable in the bathroom, babe."

"Silly me" said Steven with a smile, "what was I thinking?" He caught up with Lila in his bedroom.

"I guess we should double check the closet" he said. "I think I got all the important stuff out of there already, but let's look anyway." He stepped into the closet and carefully perused everything inside.

"Nope, Lila" he said, "all I see are clothes, shoes, uniforms and a bit of junk, nothing the movers can't take."

"Okay, I guess that's it then" she said. "We're officially packed - well, as packed as we're going to get ourselves anyway."

"Yeah, and it's only…8:30," he said, looking at his watch. "What do you want to do with the rest of the evening?"

"I don't know" said Lila, "got any ideas?"

"Yeah, one" he said.

"Movie?" asked Lila.

"Nope."

"Work on the birth plan?"

"Nuh-uh."

"What then?" she asked.

"This." He lifted her face towards his own, and placed the most romantic of kisses on her lips.

"I see" said Lila. "Can two play this game?" she asked.

"By all means" said Steven. Lila returned his kiss with an equally passionate one, and they didn't separate until their bodies hit the bed.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" whispered Lila as her fingers circled the button on his jeans. In times past, it'd been him asking that of her, but being the first time since his accident they'd gotten this far, she was concerned about hurting him.

Steven nodded. "You?" It didn't matter how many times the doctor told him it was okay, he couldn't help but ask.

Lila also nodded, looking deep into his sapphire eyes. He slipped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. He reached for the hem of her shirt and carefully pulled it up over her head.

"You're so beautiful" he whispered as he kissed her neck over and over.

"Mmmmmm…" said Lila, "You know what that does to me."

"What, this?" he quietly teased as he kissed up the side of her neck and all around her ear.

"Yes…" purred Lila.

"Yes, I know" he softly replied. He continued kissing her neck as the remainder of their clothing met with the floor.

"I know what this does, too" he said as he began massaging her foot, slowly moving up, his action coming to a near halt the closer he got to the top of her leg.

Lila took a deep breath. "Don't you dare stop there, Smokey?"

"Have I ever?" he asked, moving his attention to her face and kissing her tenderly.

"Then why are you teasing me like that?" she cooed.

He whispered in her ear. "Because it drives you wild."

"Two can play that game, too" she said slyly. She rolled onto her side and with her finger began making small circles all up and down his upper body.

"Lilaaaa …"

"Just returning the tease" she said.

He reached out for her hand, took it in his own and kissed each of her fingers.

"Enough teasing" he whispered…

 **A/N: There you have those pregnancy hormones going wild and our young couple getting ready to embark on the next big step, the final step before becoming parents. I was so glad to hear so many enjoyed the baby shower chapter, it was one of my favorites. As this series is primarily about Jamie and Eddie and their family I don't always incorporate the other family members as much but I'm glad I took the out for the baby shower chapter.**

 **Next Update – June 10** **th** **– It's moving day, but not everyone in the family is able to keep their promises to help. Find out who and why…**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty One

"Eddie," Jamie whispered in his wife's ear. "Eddie honey, time to get up. We have to get ready to help the kids move."

Eddie sighed, "Okay, I feel like I just go to sleep." Eddie sat up and pushed her thick hair out of her face. She swung her legs out of the bed and went to stand up only to cry out in pain as soon as she put weight on her legs.

Jamie heard her cry and hurried back from the bathroom, "Are you okay?" Eddie hadn't had a bad morning in months.

Eddie sighed and looked down at her legs and feet, from the knees down both were swollen up badly. "I can't walk like this…why today?"

Jamie went behind her looking down with a shake of his head. He gently helped Eddie back into bed elevating her legs on a pillow.

"I'm sure the kids won't mind if only I come. You need to rest love," Jamie whispered kissing her head.

"I promised to help Lila set things up," Eddie sighed. "Let me have an extra one of the diuretics and I can just…"

"No, you will not overdose on medication to set up a living room. You will stay in this bed with your feet up and if I have to stay here to make sure, I will."

Eddie sighed and leaned back, "Maybe if you massage my legs the swelling will go down?"

"Yes, but you are still in bed all day," Jamie replied firmly. "I'll call Linda now and ask her to stay with you and Dad. The rest of us will help the kids, Lila would want you to rest."

Jamie dialed the phone and arranged for Linda to come over to help out with Eddie and Frank. He then spoke to Danny to coordinate the men to assemble the babies' cribs, it would take all of them to make sure it was right. Finally Jamie sat on the bed and wrapped two strong hands around Eddie's swollen leg. "I know it hurts, this isn't lymphedema in your legs, this is that medication."

"Dr. McLean increased it, so I guess it's going to bother me again," Eddie sighed. "You might get me to stay home today, but I will not be ordered to bed when my grandbabies come."

"No, if I put you in my old wheelchair, you'll be there," Jamie assured her.

Eddie sighed, "Jamie it's not working, it just hurts. I have to go to the bathroom but…How long until Linda gets here. I can't walk and you can't carry me."

Eddie choked up, when Jamie offered, "I can call Steven to run over."

She dropped her head and covered her face in embarrassment. "Jamie, I don't want this anymore, why do you keep pushing this?"

Jamie wrapped his arms around Eddie pulling her closer to him allowing him to kiss her cheek. "Because I love you and want to see you around for a long time."

Eddie looked down at the ground hiding her face from him. "Jamie…"

Before she could finish Jamie cupped her face with his hands. "Stop it," he whispered. "Eddie, I promise you, when or if you ever are sick enough to really want to stop this, I will support you. This isn't that, this is frustration and depression talking now. When you are that ill, I will know it and I'll be the one saying enough is enough." Jamie tipped her face back and kissed her. "I'm going to call Lila. Do you want to talk to her?"

Eddie shook her head, "I'll call her later. Maybe if I sleep I won't think of how badly I have to pee."

Lila was supervising the last boxes being loaded on the truck when Jamie called. "Hey, Dad, you guys already over there? The movers are loading up the last things here."

"No, Kitten, we're not there yet," Jamie replied. "It's just going to be me coming today, Mom's legs swelled up really bad overnight, it's painful for her to try to stand. Aunt Linda is going to take care of her and Grandpa and the rest of us will be there to help."

"Is she all right? Dad, if you think it's more important to stay home with Mom…"

"No, no, your mother was very specific that I be there with you. She needs to rest that's all and keep her feet up. The doctor increased her medication. You can call her later, she's very tired now."

"Tell her I love her," Lila replied as the movers did one final pass through the house to be sure nothing remained.

"That one goes in the kitchen" said Lila to the movers as they carried a large dish pack into the house.

"Yes, ma'am," replied one of the men. "What about the smaller ones there?"

"They can go in the kitchen as well," replied Lila. "Aunt Erin, can you help by making sure all of the crates for the babies' room go in there. Dad and Uncle Danny are ready to start on the furniture. Steven should be home by noon." Just as Lila finished the conversation, her call phone rang.

"Hi babe," she said.

" _How's it going over there_?" asked Steven on the other end of the line. He'd been called in that morning for a fire in Flatbush gone wrong, but was certain the Reagan clan would could assist Lila at the new house.

"Great," answered Lila. "They've almost got all the boxes in the kitchen, living room, and babies' room unloaded, and all that's left is the master bedroom and guest room boxes and some furniture."

 _"_ Sounds like someone's been keeping a fire lit underneath these guys," chuckled Steven. "Your Mom cracking the whip?

"No, Mom's sick, she's not here today. I have been channeling her well enough though. Joe started to unpack the kitchen and my Dad and Uncle Danny are breaking out the screw drivers."

"Is she okay? Your Mom?"

"She's really tired and sore, some swelling in her legs so Dad has he off her feet with Aunt Linda."

"Well if you want to go over and see her later…"

Lila smiled, Steven had really come around to Lila's close knit family since the baby shower.

"You know me well, love," replied Lila. "Still planning to be here early afternoon?"

 _"_ Yeah, looks like that'll happen _" said Steven. "_ What's the plan once I get there _?"_

"You can help Dad and Uncle Danny in the nursery, Joey and Molly seem to have the bed in our room figured out," said Lila, "I'll be ready for a little nap right about then so I'm glad they got it going."

 _"_ Consider it done, babe _" said Steven. "_ I better finish up here so I can get over and help you, okay?"

"Sure thing," said Lila. "I love you."

 _"_ Love you, too _" replied Steven. "_ Bye."

"Bye." Lila returned the phone to her back pocket and took a big drink from her water bottle.

"Which room is the nursery, ma'am?" asked one of the movers as he carried in one of the boxes of baby things Lila had allowed them to pack and transport.

"Right around the corner here," she said. "Next to the master bedroom. My Aunt Erin will tell you where to put everything."

"Thank you, ma'am," the man replied. He deposited the box in the nursery, and headed out to retrieve the next one.

"When's the big day?" he asked as he came in with the next box.

"About 5-and-a-half more weeks" said Lila. "I'm due September 9th."

"Wow, that's not long!" exclaimed the man. "My wife and I are expecting our first in another 4 months."

"Congratulations" said Lila.

"Thank you, ma'am," he replied. "It's real exciting, isn't it?"

"Very much so," said Lila with a smile. After the mover left the room, she stayed for a moment, looking around at what would be the babies' first bedroom. The furniture that her parents had given them as a gift had all been delivered the day before. It was so pretty- two solid oak sleigh cribs, matching dressers with a built-in changing tables, a 6-foot high bookcase and a glider rocker with a cushion that matched the bedding set.

"After our nap today, little ones," said Lila. "We will work with your Auntie Erin getting your room unpacked." Lila was so excited about seeing it competed. Steven had painted the walls a very light yellow with white trim, and put up a wallpaper border that matched the bedding. It promised to be beautiful once it was all done up. Lila's thoughts were interrupted by another ring of her cell phone.

"Hello again, babe," she said.

 _"_ Hey,"he said _. "_ I finished up a little earlier than I thought, so I'm on my way over now."

"Great!" said Lila. "Can you bring something for lunch, please?"

 _"_ I was actually calling to see what you wanted me to pick up for lunch, _"_ replied Steven.

"I should have known you'd do that," said Lila sweetly.

 _"_ Yeah, you should have, but it's okay if you momentarily forgot what a wonderful and caring husband you have, _"_ joked Steven. "It's not like your busy or anything."

"Oh brother," said Lila. "Let me see, what do I want…Taco Bell!"

 _"_ Your usual order, I presume?" asked Steven. "I was thinking taco trays for everyone else including me."

"Sounds good," replied Lila. "Two Burrito Supremes with extra sour cream."

"Your wish is my command _"_ said Steven. _"_ I should be there in 45 minutes or so _."_

"Okay, the movers should be finished and gone by then. Love you, babe." said Lila.

"Love you, too _."_

Steven arrived with lunch less than an hour later, and they sat down with the family assembled to help and ate together before he changed into his clothes and went into the nursery to help Danny and Jamie. Joey and Molly had almost finished assembling the furniture in the master bedroom.

"Damn it!" Jamie swore for about the tenth time since he started working on the side of the crib. This was one of the situations that had him frustrated since his stroke. When it came to putting together cribs for his children, it was a piece of cake for him, today he kept dropping the nuts and bolts and had a hard time making his fingers obey.

Steven saw the trouble his father-in-law was having, "Why don't we team up. I can't make heads or tails of the directions, you can walk me through it?"

"That's what it'll have to be, damn hand," he sighed handing the tools over to Steven and verbally directing his son-in-law on the assembly of the crib.

"Where do you want the clothes to be?" Erin asked her as she unpacked the boxes of little baby things lined up in the nursery.

"I'm thinking in the dresser against this wall here," she said. "I think it'll be easier with it in between the two cribs."

"Agreed," said Erin. She began to unload the tiny outfits and other baby supplies while her brothers and Steven made progress on the cribs.

"I'm going to go start unpacking some of our kitchen and bathroom things so we have access to them tonight," said Lila. "Joey, let me know as soon as you get the bed put together, I need a power nap in the worst way."

"Will do, Sis," replied Joey. "Don't you overdo it, okay?"

"I won't, I'm fine," said Lila as she offered her brother a warm smile. Sometimes having a big family was the best.

 **A/N: For my previous chapter, I had a guest reviewer mention they prefer chapters that include the characters they know from the show. I have to admit I prefer writing those chapters too but as I have said, this is a thirteen story series and it is imperative for us to get to know Steven and bond with him as we have Lila and Joey for some of those future stories to have the proper effect. This is the only story that will really focus on the OCs this readily. No worries! That being said, I do hope you enjoyed this more inclusive chapter.**

 **Next Update – June 12** **th** **– Jamie worried about Eddie while Lila worries about premature labor.**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty Two

Linda was sitting on the sofa with Frank when Jamie and Danny returned to the main house. "Hey, they all set?" Frank asked.

"Yep, just a few more things for Lila and Steven to touch up on and the cabinet she wants to do with Eddie," Jamie replied. "Speaking of, how is she?"

"She took a bath and she feels better now, she's in the kitchen."

"She's on her feet?" Jamie looked at Linda and hurried to the kitchen.

"He is so overprotective," Danny sighed sitting down on the couch with Linda. "He's in a bad mood, he had to just talk through the crib assembly, his hand just didn't cooperate.

"They usually don't," Frank piped up. "Eddie usually ties his tie, ties his shoes, does the other fine motor type stuff. She is his hands and a lot of times lately he's her legs. That medication and the problems with her kidneys, her knees and her back really ache."

Eddie was making a tray of tea and cookies when Jamie came in. She was in sweats and a light tee shirt with her hair up off her neck. Jamie stepped up behind her and kissed the soft spot below her ear, "Why are you up? You should be resting."

"I rested and the swelling is going down, it's good for me to move too. How did it go at Lila's?"

"Fine," Jamie replied. "Took a little time to get things set up, but it went fine. I'm glad you're feeling better."

Eddie turned and gave Jamie a hug, she could hear the traces of frustration in his voice. "I know," she whispered kissing his head. "I know, but it's over now and soon the babies will be here and you get to be the doting grandpa."

Jamie kissed Eddie's head once more, "I'll finish, please rest."

Eddie nodded and headed back to the living room, sitting down next to Frank to listen to Danny's stories of the big move in day.

Lila sat down in the glider rocker and opened the box closest to her. She kept a lot of the special baby items to put away herself." She pulled out some clothes, sat the small pile in what little lap she still had with her tummy the size it was, and began sorting it.

"I made up the bed, babe," Steven told her poking his head in after finishing their closet. "Sheets, blankets and all."

"Okay, thanks," she replied. "Here, can you hang these in the closet, please?' she asked him, handing him the clothes people had purchased for when the babies were a little bigger.

"Sure," he said, taking the clothes from her. "You look really tired, why don't you save the rest of this for tomorrow and I'll help you with it then?"

"Good idea," agreed Lila. She tossed the last few things that were in her lap back into the box, and started to get up from the glider.

"Ooohh," she said as she sat back down.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Steven.

"Nothing," answered Lila. "One baby just moved wrong is all, got me in the ribs again."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yep, I'm sure," she said. She tried standing up again, and was successful the second time. "See? No problem."

"Okay, babe" said Steven. "What should I do while you nap, anything in particular?"

"You can work in the kitchen and finish it, if you want to, put the dishes wherever you want them?" she said.

"Okay," he agreed.

"I'll be up in a couple of hours, then we can watch TV and have some dinner," said Lila as she kissed Steven and headed for the bedroom. Steven made his way to the kitchen, chose a box and started unpacking it.

"We've got entirely too many dishes" he concluded as he pulled out seemingly every dish either of them had owned before they moved in together. He decided to keep the everyday basics in the most accessible cabinets, and stack the rest in the higher-up ones.

"Oh yeah" he remembered, "Better leave space for the baby bottles and all that stuff _."_ He smiled as he thought about how there'd be baby things in his kitchen. He was lost in thought when…

"Steven, come here, please..." He heard Lila call to him from the bedroom. He immediately ran down the hall to see what she needed.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked, the concern in his voice obvious.

"Could you run to the convenience store and get me some ginger ale, please?" she asked. "My lunch is sitting like a rock and I can't get comfortable enough to sleep."

"Sure," said Steven, "I'll be right back. Anything else you think you might need?"

"No, just the soda," said Lila.

"Okay," said Steven as he kissed her on the forehead before grabbing his keys and leaving for the store.

He returned about 10 minutes later with 2 bottles of ginger ale and a bag of ice, since they didn't have any ice made at the house yet. He took a cup from the cabinet, threw some ice in it and started off down the hallway with the cup in one hand and the soda in the other.

"Alright, here you go," he said as he walked through the doorway of the bedroom. "Lila! What's wrong?" She was curled up on top of the covers, crying, and squeezing his pillow in her fists as tight as she could.

"Lila! Babe, are you okay?" exclaimed Steven as he knelt down on the floor beside the bed and moved her hair off of her sweaty face.

She didn't say anything, just looked at him and shook her head.

"I'm calling Dr. Mianni!" said Steven.

Lila nodded her head as Steven grabbed his cell phone and made the call.

"Yes, I need to speak with Dr. Mianni, please. This is Steven Tenney. My wife is one of Dr. Mianni's patients. Yes, Lila Tenney. She's almost 35 weeks pregnant and she thought she had indigestion, but now we're not so sure. She's laying in bed in terrible pain and I need to know what we need to do. Okay, yes, it's 555-2114, yes, thank you."

"They're going to page her and she'll call us right back, okay?" Steven said to Lila as he reached out to hold her hand. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

"What if… it's not?" cried Lila. "What if I have….the babies… today?" She cried even harder at that idea.

"Then we'll handle it and everything will be just fine, babe," said Steven, doing his best to reassure her but feeling like a failure, just like he did too many times before. Not a moment too soon, his cell phone rang.

"Hi, Dr. Mianni. Yes. Yeah, she went to take a nap and thought she had indigestion, so I went to get her some ginger ale and when I got home, I found her curled up on the bed crying in pain. Yeah. No. If you think that'd be best, certainly. Okay, thank you doctor. Bye."

"The doctor said that it's most likely nothing more than really bad indigestion," said Steven, "but since you're so far along and since you've got the blood pressure issue, she wants us to go in right now and she'll check you over, okay?"

"Okay," said Lila, still crying some. "You'll have to help me up, and call my Mom. I want my mom there incase."

"Of course I will," said Steven, putting his arms around her and slowly moving her into a sitting position. "We'll call if the doctor says you are in labor okay? Has the pain lessened at all?" he asked, once again trying to mask his concern so she wouldn't know how scared he was.

"It's a little better," she said. "At least I can move and speak now."

"See, that's good!" he said, seizing the opportunity to encourage her.

He helped her into her shoes and out to his vehicle, and they headed towards the doctor's office, unsure of what the remainder of the day held in store…

"I understand we're not having a good evening," said Dr. Mianni as she entered the exam room where Steven and Lila were waiting. She was just about to leave to go home when this page came in.

"We've had better," said Steven.

"How are you feeling right now, Lila?" she asked as she looked at the printout from the fetal monitor that the nurse had put on Lila as soon as she arrived.

"Better than I was an hour ago," replied Lila as she laid on her left side on the exam table. "But still not good."

"What specifically is bothering you right now?" asked Dr. Mianni, "still your stomach?"

"Yeah" said Lila, "and my back hurts a little."

"I see" replied the doctor. "Well, the readings from the fetal monitor aren't causing me too much concern, and your blood pressure has gone down a few points since you first arrived, which is good, but I want to do an internal exam and an ultrasound, just to be on the safe side."

"Okay," said Lila.

"I'll step out for a minute and let you get undressed," said the doctor. "Here's a sheet."

"Thanks," said Lila as she reached out for Steven's hand to pull herself up off the table.

"I'm glad she's not too worried about anything," said Steven as Lila slowly undressed from the waist down and covered up with the sheet.

"Me too" replied Lila, laying back down on the table. "I'm glad my pressures weren't too high. As much pain as I was in at the house, I was afraid they'd be off the charts and uncontrollable and we'd be spending this afternoon having a baby."

"Well, it doesn't look like that'll be the case" said Steven as he sat back down beside the exam table. "I've got a good feeling about everything, I really think it'll all be fine."

"Knock, knock," said Dr. Mianni as she opened the door a bit to see if Lila was ready.

"Come in, I'm ready," said Lila. The doctor entered and closed the door behind herself, grabbed a pair of gloves and a tube of water-based gel. She put the gloves on and squeezed a small amount of the gel onto the fingers of her right hand.

Lila held onto Steven's hand tightly.

"I'll be as gentle as possible, Lila" she said as she began the exam.

"Please do" replied Lila, staring straight up at the ceiling. She retained her grip on Steven's hand and made a conscious effort not to hold her breath.

"Ow, ow, ow" she said. "That hurt a little!"

"I'm sorry" replied the doctor. "I'm feeling your cervix to see if it's dilated at all, I know that can be really uncomfortable."

"I'd take it step further and say it just plain hurts!" replied Lila. Steven leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Okay, all finished with that" said Dr. Mianni. "Your cervix isn't dilated at all, which is good since you're not due for a little bit yet."

"So the pains I was having weren't contractions?" asked Lila.

"I'm 99 percent certain they weren't" replied the doctor. "Since you've been on the monitor here, you've had a couple of mild ones, and you may have had similar ones at home, but even if you did they wouldn't account for the kind of pain you described. They would have gotten your attention for sure, but they wouldn't have incapacitated you."

"What are we looking for in the ultrasound?" asked Steven.

"I just want to take a quick look and make sure nothing's out of the ordinary" said the doctor. "Since the internal exam didn't reveal anything wrong and the fetal monitor readings and mother's blood pressure are okay we could skip the ultrasound if you wanted to, but somehow I think you'd like to do it."

"You know us well, doctor!" said Lila, slightly smiling for the first time since the pains began. The doctor hit a few keys on the ultrasound keyboard, brought up the proper screen and entered Lila's name.

"Steven, would you get the lights, please?" she asked. He reached around and flipped the switch, and the room was illuminated only by the machine. The doctor squeezed the ultrasound gel onto Lila's tummy, and moved it around with the wand until she got a good view of the babies.

"These little ones are growing well" said the doctor. "Still don't want to know the sexes, huh?"

"NO!" they both said at the same time.

Dr. Mianni laughed. "Just kidding, just kidding! I've never told parents the sex against their will, and I don't plan to start with you two."

"That's good," chuckled Steven. "Because we've made it this far without knowing, and we're really looking forward to the surprise."

The doctor smiled as she continued looking at the babies on the screen. She turned a dial on the machine and the babies heartbeats echoed against the walls. Steven and Lila looked into one another's eyes and smiled, as they did each time they got to hear that breathtaking sound.

"Well," said the doctor as she put the wand down and reached for a towel to dry Lila's tummy off. "Everything looks fantastic. I feel confident that what happened was indeed a nasty bout of indigestion, so I'm going to let you go home and get some rest."

Lila let out an audible sigh of relief. "I guess I need to lay off the burritos, huh?" she said with a laugh.

"That'd probably be wise," agreed the doctor. "At least until after you deliver."

"Anything else we should steer clear of, doc?" asked Steven.

"Not specifically," she replied. "Anything you've eaten to this point is fine as long as it still agrees with you, Lila."

"Okay," said Lila. "Well, I'm sorry to have caused such trouble, but I'm glad we know what happened and how to hopefully not have it happen again."

"It's no trouble," said the doctor. "I'm glad you called and I'm glad I had you come in - some things just aren't worth taking chances on."

"Definitely not," agreed Steven.

"Here's a picture from today, and unless you have any problems between now and next Thursday," said the doctor, "I'll see you at your next appointment, okay?"

"Sounds great," said Lila as she took the picture and looked at it lovingly. "Thank you so much." With that, Dr. Mianni left the room, and Lila carefully got dressed.

"See, babe," said Steven. "Everything is just fine."

"Yeah" she said, "And I'm glad we didn't call my folks and get everyone upset. I feel stupid for getting so worked up over indigestion."

"Hey, nothing you did was stupid," said Steven in as reassuring a voice as he had. "This is all totally new to us, completely uncharted territory, and when something has you hurting so badly you can't move or even speak, having it checked is anything but stupid!"

"I know," said Lila. "I'm just so tired of all these scares and near-misses. I just want the babies to be here so we can hold them and know that they're alright, you know?"

"I know, my love," he said. "It'll happen soon. I know for you it must seem like September will never get here, but it will and we're going to have these babies and it's going to be the best thing that's ever happened to us."

"Well, second best maybe," said Lila.

Steven looked at her quizzically. "The best has to be the day we got together," said Lila. "Without that, there'd be no babies, so I think we have to give recognition where it's called for."

Steven took Lila's face in his hands and kissed her lips tenderly.

"I love you more than you could ever know, Lila."

"I think I know" she replied. "I really think I know."

 **A/N: Close one for Lila and the tiny Reagans inside of her but a burrito was the culprit. I think Jamie would have to tie Eddie down to keep her away from Lila during the birth. At least she's doing better so that might not be necessary. I wanted to extend a great big thanks to all that are still reading this and those who plan to keep up with the series. Nine more stories to go in the series but eight left in this story. I think it's three more until show time.**

 **Next Update – June 14** **th** **– Lila is discouraged with lack of progress near her due date, the cracks in a Reagan marriage begin to show.**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty Three

"Hey, Sweetie," Eddie soothed as she took Lila in her arms. "Don't cry. It's nothing to get upset over."

"Yes it is, Mom!" insisted Lila as she continued to cry. They were in the exam room at Dr. Mianni's office, having just finished with their 35-week appointment. "She said the babies should come by 36 weeks and I'm not dilated at _all_! Do you know what this means?"

"I know what it means technically, sweetheart, but what does it mean to you?" Eddie asked compassionately.

"It means I'm not even close to having these babies, that's what it means!" exclaimed Lila.

"Come one, honey, now you know that's not true," Eddie reasoned. "You're very close to having the babies, it just might be a little bit later than we'd like it to be is all."

"I'm tired of being pregnant!" screamed Lila. "I just want to have the babies!" She buried her face in her mother's chest and sobbed.

"Hey, hey, look at me," Eddie said after giving Lila a moment to get her emotions out. "You've only got a ten to twelve days at most. Remember, the doctor said if the babies don't decide to come before the 19th, she'll induce your labor."

"That's too many days away," sniffed Lila, calming down a little. "I'll go crazy before then."

"No you won't, honey," Eddie assured her. "You will be just fine, trust me. I've been there too and it always seems longer than it is. Dry your eyes, let's go get some lunch and tell Steven the news. Do you want to go pick up Dad?"

Lila nodded, and held onto her mom, grateful she was here to help her see reason. "Let's go, Dad loves it when he gets to mop me up from crying, makes him feel loved."

Eddie laughed at Lila's truthful observation and escorted her daughter to the car arm in arm.

Steven was at a fire when Eddie and Lila swung by the firehouse, so they headed out to 1PP to surprise Jamie. Detective Meyers smiled, "Go on in. He just tossed out the brain trust so I think he'd be really happy to see you."

When they entered the office the two women found Jamie pacing between his desk and the Windows.

"Jamie," Eddie greeted offering a smile when he turned to look at them.

Jamie walked back hugging his wife and daughter. "Hey what are you doing here?" It was then looking at his daughter that Jamie noticed the redness in his daughter's eyes. "What's wrong princess?"

"I'm not dilated yet, Daddy," Lila sniffled. "Why not?"

It was moments like this when Jamie still saw Lila as his tiny little girl crying when her teacher put her out of her dancing school for shedding her tutu in class. "Your body isn't ready for the babies to come out yet," Jamie comforted. "But I promise you soon it will be and you'll have two adorable little ones to love. You should try to relax, before your Mom had Joe she had a nice massage and it helped relax her. Why don't you and Mom go do that, get massages and pedicures and have a girls' day."

Eddie smiled, 'That's nice Jamie and we probably will do it but what's got you so upset. You promised me you weren't going to get upset."

"Sometimes being a little smarter than most of the people you work with is really irritating…some concepts that seem so simple to me, it's like they are just out to lunch totally. They don't get these concepts."

"Jamie, you are abnormally intelligent," Eddie soothed. "Just try to dumb it down a little and please take some breaths baby."

Jamie leaned over and kissed her lips. "I love you, I promise I will relax and I'll see you at home. You two go have fun. I'll see tonight. I'll be home by six, I promise."

Eddie took Lila to her favorite massage parlor, the place she still went for lymphedema massages to this day. The therapist gave Lila a gentle but thorough pregnancy massage then worked on Eddie's more sensitive areas, her left arm, legs and lower back. The two ladies enjoyed a shared brick oven pizza then headed home so Lila could take a nap.

Lila was staying with her parents for the next couple of days while Steven was working. Lila remembered him insisting on it, she was surprised he went for the idea.

" **I'd really feel a lot better if you stayed with your folks while I'm onthe three day," Steven told Lila later that week. "If you go into labor, even being so close by I'll be worried."**

 **Lila smiled, "So will my mother so I packed a bag and I have a spare hospital bag at their house. You didn't miss the part where I'm not dilated at all, did you?"**

" **No, but I have had guys deliver babies in the back of ambulances and fire trucks when they weren't expected for weeks and I'd rather out twins be born in a hospital or at least you house where it is clean."**

 **Lila laughed, "Drop me over there then?"**

Lila helped Eddie get dinner, "Where is he?" Eddie grouched pacing the floor. It was almost seven and Jamie wasn't home yet.

"He'll be here soon Mom, don't worry." Lila knew it was long a point of contention between her parents that Jamie was still working. Lila stirred the potatoes and soon they heard the door open but instead of Jamie called out, the heard his briefcase fall to the floor and very uneven footfalls move then stop abruptly. The chair made a sharp thud under the weight of a person falling into it. Both women shared worried looks.

Eddie almost jogged to the living room wanting to protect her daughter if something bad was happening. She found Jamie collapsed in the chair, one arm over his eyes, his briefcase discarded on the floor. "Jamie?"

"I'm so sorry, Eddie," Jamie groaned. "I'm sorry I was late, I…"

"Forget that right now, you're in pain, where, is it your leg?" Jamie still had bad muscle spasms in his leg.

"No, my head, it's a horrible headache…"

"Let's get you to lie down," Eddie sighed. "Right here on the couch, come on now…" Eddie held Jamie as he walked shakily to the sofa. Eddie put a pillow under his head and after undoing his shoes but two under his legs to lower a high blood pressure. "Lila, please bring an ice pack," Eddie called out. Lila had stayed out of her parents' way.

"Eddie, I'm going to be sick," Jamie moaned before the ice had a chance to hit his head. Eddie helped him to roll and put down some newspapers in case Jamie vomited. He had not had a migraine of this magnitude since his stroke.

Worry showing in her face Eddie sat on the couch next to Jamie rubbing his back. "Did you feel like this all day?"

"No just a few hours. It's been a long day, lot of people who don't see the obvious," Jamie almost moaned the answer.

Eddie gave a disapproving shake of her head continuing to rub his back. "Jamie, sweetie you can't keep coming home like this. If the job is so stressful that it makes you sick its time you retire."

"I can't Eddie!" Jamie's eyes rounded shocked she'd even suggest that.

"Look at you Jamie the stress is making you sick. Nothing is worth risking your health," Eddie tried reasoning with him but it wasn't easy with his stubborn Reagan temper.

"Please, Daddy," Lila implored him kneeling next to her father and holding his hand. "You already had a stroke and you are only 62."

"I know baby, in a few more years," Jamie replied fighting another bout of nausea. "I'm sorry, I can't eat right now."

Eddie nodded, "I know you can't. You lie there and rest, we will eat our meal and hopefully when you're head feels better you'll see reason. Come on to eat, Lila, leave him alone."

Eddie was so angry she was shaking. "Eddie, calm down honey," Frank soothed.

"No, Frank!" Eddie sighed. "He has to retire, he keeps kicking that can down the road, and I'm not letting him have another stroke. I'm not doing it. There's no way I could even care for him like things are now. This time, if he strokes, he's going to die and I'm not ready for that!"

Jamie heard Eddie's words, and he knew his stress levels were scary for her. He promised once his head stopped aching he'd comfort her and show her he was still okay.

Lila went up to bed early, she knew her parents needed time to talk things out. Frank did his treatments and went to bed early as well leaving Eddie and Jamie alone. "Let's go up to bed too," Jamie suggested. "I can eat a sandwich up there, I do feel so much better." Jamie slid his arm around Eddie but she side stepped him. "No, not this time."

"Eddie, we talked all this through," Jamie sighed as they sat on their bed. "We said I'd retire when Jack was ready to step up, after the election. That's over a year from now."

"Exactly!" Eddie snapped. "It's over a year from now, a lot can happen in a year Jamie. Last year, I was healthy, now I have this kidney thing and these horrible medications that make me look like this…"

Jamie reached out for Eddie. Lately she had totally cut off that part of their relationship, when she did let him make love to her he had to work for it and she often ended up in tears. Eddie stepped back, "No, you can't love it away, Jamie! You can't cuddle it away and make me not be scared. I want you to retire, I need you to retire, I really do! And I don't know if our marriage will work anymore if you don't."

Jamie stared shocked at her bringing their marriage into it.

"Eddie please let's talk about this," Jamie begged sitting up slowly.

Eddie shook her head at him moving further away. "No Jamie enough is enough. I'm not going to sit back and watch you get sick or worse over a job and I'm scared that's what'll happen. I love you Jamie, but I can't do this anymore!"

Jamie swung his feet over the bed standing up. "Eddie, I love you and I'm not going to get sick over this. Baby, please don't ask me to do this, to make this choice."

"I'm not asking you to make a choice, I'm asking you to stick to our deal. You promised if things were getting too hard that you would step down, I call long hours again and migraines again time to step down. You promised me!"

"It's not the right time, I can't say more than that now and I know you understand that."

Eddie let the tears fall down her cheeks. She pulled the covers down and laid on her side of the bed, legs pulled up, crying into her pillow.

"Eddie, you need to talk to me baby," Jamie encouraged, she was making that sound, the sound he hated above all else.

"Jamie…please…I am begging you, please…Go…leave this room, please…"

Jamie sighed, he knew when Eddie asked that she really needed space. Jamie leaned down to kiss her head, "I love you, nothing more than you, you know that." Jamie's voice cracked as he turned to leave and head downstairs.

Jamie went to pour himself a glass of milk and was not at all surprised when Frank pushed his bedroom door open, "I heard…thin walls, good hearing aid." He moved and sat down. "The job isn't worth in Jamie. It's not worth thirty years."

"How did you know Dad?" Jamie asked sighing. "How did you know when it was time?"

"When I felt it was no longer effective to have me in the chair, but I didn't' have to consider a wife. You do have to consider Eddie in this Jamie, it's not just about you and the work son."

Jamie took a breath, "Today was a fluke. I am okay, she's going off the deep end. To be honest, Dad, things with me and Eddie they aren't good. You know that you can hear it."

"I think that you are pushing her Jamie, she's telling you something by cutting you off in the bedroom, she's saying I am scared and hurt and I need you to see that…You need to see that in her, you always used to be able to do that."

Jamie sighed, "This medication changed her Dad. It changed my Eddie and not just because it made her heavier, it changed her inside and I missed the person before it all started, but I'd rather live with this newer more insecure Eddie than not have her in my life. I love my wife, I want her alive."

"I know, believe me if there were these meds when Mom was dying I'd have had her on them. Jamie you need to think about things, try to reach Eddie on another level. Do it by taking care of Lila or taking a day off and taking Eddie to lunch, don't show her she's beautiful by asking to make love to her all the time, she might be tired, she might be in pain, she's giving you the stop sign so don't run it. Find another way to say that you love her and she's beautiful to you no matter what. Trust me, if you do that, things will get better. Eddie loves you. Now go up there with a cup of tea, set it down and give her a little kiss and that's it."

Jamie nodded and brewed Eddie's favorite blend and made it just the way she liked it. Carefully Jamie brought it upstairs and put it on the nightstand. Eddie was lying still awake, but no longer in tears. Jamie brushed a piece of her hair off her face, "I made you some tea. Tomorrow I will take off and we can relax together."

Eddie sniffled, "I meant what I said, Jamie. This is a nice gesture but…If you can't retire right now you have to tell me why."

Jamie sighed, "As soon as I'm able I will do that and I promise you baby, you will understand."

Eddie nodded and turned over reaching out for Jamie's hand. "I'm sorry but I can't…"

Jamie moved and held her, he didn't try to escalate it, he just held her close to him hoping she could feel the love and the commitment from his body to her heart and her soul. Heaven knew it was there.

 **A/N: Yes, unfortunately Jamie and Eddie are heading for some marital strife. The medication Eddie is taking is physically and mentally draining and she certainly has cause to worry about Jamie.**

 **Next Update – June 16** **th** **– The family comes together for Sunday dinner, Frank offers Lila some advice on starting her labor.**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty Four

Over the next couple of days, Jamie and Eddie seemed to settle down. Things were still strained but they were too happy with the birth coming to continue to push each other away. Across town, another couple was eagerly awaiting the new arrivals as well.

"Hey, sleepyhead," said Lila as she gently rubbed Steven's shoulder. "Time to wake up."

"What? Is it time?" Steven asked as he started to wake. "Are the babies coming?"

"Doesn't look like it yet," said Lila, the dejection in her voice ringing loud and clear. "It was worth a try though, last night I mean."

"Yeah, it was," agreed Steven as he stretched and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "You don't feel anything yet though, huh?"

"Nope." Lila took a deep breath. "However, today is one day past the date the doctor guessed they might come because of them being twins, so God-willing it won't be much longer."

"Well, you know," said Steven with a sneaky smile. "If today doesn't end up being the day..."

Lila smiled back at him. "Steven Tenney, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were just looking for an excuse to have your way with me."

Steven leaned over and kissed Lila tenderly on the lips. "Do I need an excuse?"

"None at all," replied Lila, and they kissed again…and again…

A half hour later, Lila hurriedly fixed Steven's uniform while he showered and dressed. "Well, it may not have been a bad idea, but if you don't walk out of this house in exactly 4 minutes, you won't make roll call and then everyone will wonder if we're having the babies and you'll have to field a million 'we thought maybe you were having the babies' comments in addition to the 'how nice of you to join us' line you'll no doubt get from Captain!"

"I'll make roll call, babe," said Steven as he threw the shower curtain open and jumped out. "Don't worry." He quickly toweled off, ran a comb and a little gel through his wet hair, and got dressed. He knew Lila was a little miffed about the time, she absolutely hated running late, and since their marriage, that pet peeve extended to his running late. She no doubt got that from Jamie. He also knew she didn't _really_ mind that they'd spent a few intimate moments that morning trying to get labor going. She got her practical side from Eddie.

"Are you ready?" she called to Steven as she grabbed his lunch box and thermos

"Yep, see you later tonight" he said as he ran down the hall, threw on his jacket and took the items Lila was offering. With a quick kiss he was off.

Lila sat down on the bed and rubbed her belly, "Come on little ones, Mommy and Daddy are so ready to meet you. It's got to be awfully cramped in there…out here there's a lot of room to kick and stretch and so many people that will love you so much."

Lila got up and got ready for the day. She called a taxi and headed over to her parents' house. It was walking distance most of the time but Lila was so big she didn't choose to walk anywhere, even if it might induce her labor. Today was Sunday and the family would be gathering for their usual dinner, minus Steven. The FDNY didn't make exceptions for family dinners. Henry, Frank, and Jamie always quietly arranged for their relatives to be at the table, Jamie had no such influence over the fire commissioner.

When the cab pulled up outside of the Reagan home, Jamie was waiting outside to meet his daughter. He carefully offered her his right arm and watched protectively as she stood. "Careful, don't rush," he advised. When Lila was free of the cab, Jamie hugged and kissed her, "How are you feeling?"

Lila sighed, "Did Mom have a hard time going into labor?"

Slowly they walked up the steps to the front door. "No, your mom had a hard time getting pregnant. Joey was right on time and you well…you know the story of how you came to us. You're only a day past your due date. They say that twins come faster, but it is your first time…"

"Is everything okay now with you and Mom?" Lila noticed the tension between her parents while she was staying at the house. "I hate seeing her cry and you being so stoic…"

"Mom and I are working it out, don't you worry. Mom and I have had rough patches before, we'll be fine. Be careful going in, you're off balance."

Lila nodded and headed straight for the large recliner. Jamie helped her get settled. Frank handed Lila a small glass of red wine. "Grandpa, I can't…"

"Lila, I know what they all say but each of your uncles, your aunt, and your father came a few days after a luke warm bath and a small glass of wine. It will relax you…"

Lila was willing to try anything, "Well the cabby hit every bump possible on the way here so that might help too."

Jamie stepped into the kitchen to give Eddie a hand. "Poor baby," he sighed lifting the chicken out of the over. "She is so uncomfortable."

"The babies will come when they are ready," Eddie replied. "If Lila isn't feeling any signs it's because they aren't ready. I was at the doctor with her the other day, and wasn't dilated at all not even fully effaced, if she did labor now, she'd be doing it awhile."

Jamie nodded, "Well, maybe Linda will had some ideas when they get here."

"Ideas about what?" Linda asked as she entered the family kitchen.

"Lila was due yesterday and Dad and Jamie are wanting to get her going," Eddie replied. "I think Lila and Steven are anxious too but if they aren't ready…"

"It's unusual to be late with twins," Linda confirmed Jamie's belief. "But on the other hand, Eddie is right, if the babies aren't ready…they won't be born. Patience, Grandpa."

Jamie sighed, usually he was the one ready and willing to wait things out, but this was his little girl and he could see that she didn't feel very well at all. "Go sit with Lila and the guys, try to stay relaxed. If Lila does go into labor today, we have to be with her until Steven is able to get there. She will need her calm and relaxed Dad, not this ball of nervous energy."

"We are making her a ball of nervous energy, she's concerned about us," Jamie replied. "So am I."

"We'll be fine as long as you start keeping promises, but for now we'll just let things be, all right? For Lila's sake if not for our own."

Eddie smacked Jamie with a towel in an attempt to be playful and sent him on his way. When Jamie returned to the living room, Lila was on the telephone.

"Made it with two minutes to spare," said Steven as he spoke to his wife in the corner of the firehouse.

"I'm glad," Lila replied. "My Grandpa is trying to get my labor going. Are you doing that fire safety demo again?

"Yes" said Steven. "If yesterday was any indication, I'll be there all day again today."

"Well" smiled Lila. "You never know. Maybe the babies will get you excused early."

"That'd be really great," Steven laughed. "For all of us! I can only handle so much of that place without wanting to pull out my own fingernails."

"Oh, please don't do that. I need your hands in strong working order during labor!"

"I won't do it!" laughed Steven. "But you got to admit, sometimes it'd be less painful than listening answering the same stupid questions all day long. This assignment is the equivalent of watching paint dry."

"Agreed." They talked a few more minutes before hanging up.

Lila watched the TV with her Dad, Uncle, and Grandpa, dozing off as she had a hard time sleeping especially with the night's activities. Joey arrived about a half hour before dinner. Lila received his hug, "Can you do something for me, please?" she asked.

Joey practically snapped to attention, "Is it time? Do I need to go get the smoke eater?" he asked. "Molly is in the kitchen, she can…"

"Sorry to disappoint you," said Lila, glaring a little bit at her brother. "I just need a bottle of water and I was hoping you'd get it for me."

"Oh, sure I will," Joey replied, the caretaker in him once again coming out. "Are you hungry? Want a snack or anything while we're waiting on dinner?"

"No, thanks," Lila rubbed her belly. "They aren't hungry yet, just the water."

"Yes, Lila" replied Joey with a smile returning quickly with water for his sister. "Here you go, Lil."

"Thanks." Lila took a long sip.

"If you need anything else, just holler. I'm going to give a hand in the kitchen." Joey stroked his little sister's cheek. "I know you must be going crazy waiting like this, so if there's anything I can do to help, I'm here for you."

"That's really sweet of you, Joey. Thanks."

All Lila ended up needing from her big brother that night was a ride home. Steven got stuck on dispatch and wouldn't be home until much later. "You need anything before I leave, Lil?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry again now," Lila replied. "But I'm too tired to go to the diner for what I really want."

"I'll run and grab you a something if you want," offered Joey.

"That sounds great, thanks so much," Lila replied. "BLT on white with tabasco?"

Joey raised his eyebrow, "Molly mentioned that spicy food might make them make up their minds to get moving," Lila explained.

"Coming right up," Joey replied with a sweet smile. He kissed her cheek before leaving for the diner.

 **A/N: For the moment at least things are better between our favorite couple and Grandpa Frank is doing his best to meet his newest great grandchildren. Thanks to all who have left comments and followed this story.**

 **Next Update – June 18** **th** **– It's show time!**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty Five

Three days later, Lila still had no signs of impending labor, but her latest trip to the doctor determined that the baby had dropped to minus 2 station and her cervix had completely effaced. Before Steven left for work that Thursday morning, he gave Lila a kiss, then leaned down to talk to her tummy. "Hey little ones, Daddy sure could use an excuse to get out of work this afternoon, so if you'd care to make some noise, that'd really help me out." He kissed his fingers and laid them on Lila's tummy.

"Good luck, babe," Lila said getting up to give him a hug. She didn't want Steven to leave today, but he wanted to save his leave time for after the babies came.

"Thanks," Steven replied. "Same to you."

"It's not up to me," Lila answered "But we'll see what happens."

Lila tried to focus on cleaning the house and getting things ready for when the babies made their arrival, but quickly grew frustrated.

"Forget this crap," she said to herself. She flopped onto the bed and pulled a baby name book out of her top, night table drawer. She and Steven had been going over names for 4 months and had managed to narrow it down from 26 girls names and 34 boys names to 15 girls names and 21 boys names. They had chosen one for each already, but since they decided to wait they had to have back up names in case they had two of the same sex.

"Maybe…maybe…nah…still like Reagan, if it's a girl that's her name. Reagan and Rachel for girls," she said as she went through the list she'd jotted those names on the top of her list. She didn't know which names were still on Steven's as far as boys went list, he didn't let her see it anymore, but she had a feeling they were going to end up choosing the second boys' name after the babies were born since it had proven to be a real challenge to settle on one beforehand.

"Let's see if anything new strikes my fancy" she said aloud to herself as she flipped to the beginning of the book and began glancing over the familiar pages. She was halfway through the "D's" in the boys' section when…

"Ooooh…" She put the book down and held her hand on the spot where the pain had been. It went away quickly, and she waited for another, hoping it was more than just the baby moving around. After 3 minutes, she picked the book back up and continued looking through it. Eleven minutes later…

"Ouch!" The pain was in the same place, only this time it took her breath away. She kept her hand over that spot and silently prayed that this was finally it.

"Come on, little ones," she whispered. "Don't tease Mommy, that's not nice. I'm not going to call Grandma and get Grandpa to pull Daddy out of work I'm sure you're on your way, so if you are, let me know, Okay?" Just then, there was a knock at the apartment door. Lila waddled to the living room, "Who is it?"

"It's Mom," Eddie called.

"Come in," said Lila grateful for her mother's timing. Eddie entered and saw that Lila was holding a hand on her tummy.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" asked Eddie.

"I'm not sure exactly," replied Lila. "When your labor started, how long was it before you knew for sure it was the real thing?"

"Well, with Joey about an hour, with you, not long at all," laughed Eddie. "Why?"

"I've had two really sharp pains in the same place in the last half hour," Lila told her mom.

"How far apart were they?" asked Eddie.

"14 minutes," answered Lila. "That's why I'm not sure if they mean anything or not."

"Do you want me to call Dad? He can get Commissioner McKay to get Steven…" Eddie asked Lila.

"No, not yet," Lila replied. "I don't want to call him and have it be nothing. Would you wait here with me and we'll see what happens in the next hour or so?"

"No problem, Lila," Eddie replied. "Let me call your Grandpa and tell him I won't be home so he's not watching for me then we'll sit and wait it out together."

"Okay," said Lila, leaning back in the easy chair and attempting to relax. Eddie returned a few minutes later and sat on the sofa near her daughter. "Any more pain?" she asked.

"Not like the first two," replied Lila. "But yeah, a few twinges."

"Well, let's keep our hopes up," Eddie encouraged. She knew how much Lila wanted the babies to come. "This is the most that's happened so far, right?"

Lila nodded. "I really hope this is it, I'm so ready for this part to be over."

"Been there, done that, Lila," agreed Eddie. "Has being pregnant been what you thought it would be?"

"I'm not really sure" said Lila. "It's been neat in so many ways, and scary in so many ways, wonderful, exciting, aggravating, and challenging - it's definitely been an experience!"

"Can't argue with you there. And the best is yet to come, believe me. This part is scary and painful but…trust me it is a short amount of time compared to how long you get to enjoy it. I'm still enjoying you and your brother after so many years."

Lile didn't get a chance to respond before…"Oooohhh!" Another pain hit her.

"Lila!" exclaimed Eddie. "I'm going to call Dad."

"Call him!" answered Lila in a painfully stern voice. She forgot for a moment she was speaking to her mother.

Eddie grabbed her phone and put a call in directly to Detective Meyers desk. The birth plan, if Steven was at work, was for Eddie and Jamie to get Lila to the hospital and Jamie to reach out to Steven's command and have him report to Lutheran hospital. When Meyers answered Eddie kept her voice even, "Please tell the Commissioner that it's time and we need to get to the hospital as soon as possible."

Meyers scribbled a note on a yellow sticky and as soon as Eddie hung up knocked on Jamie's office door. When is security guard opened it Meyers handed him the note. "Please give this to Commissioner Reagan right away," she whispered, handing the note to the guard.

The detective charged with Jamie's safety approached his boss wearily, he was in a heavy discussion and ordered that ne not be disturbed. "Sir," the detective said softly then handed him the note that said nothing more than "It's time."

Jamie pushed back from the table, "Chief Reagan will take things from here," he replied. "Detective Han, please get the detail ready, we are going to my daughter's the heading straight to Lutheran. The babies are coming."

Jamie got into the SUV and with the grace of God and the New York traffic they arrived at Lila's apartment in record time. Eddie let Jamie in, he hurried to his daughter's side and held her hand. "What's happening?"

"I'm having pains that hurt like hell!" replied Lila.

"How close together?" he asked her as he rubbed her knee.

"14 minutes between the first two," answered Lila. "Then a couple smaller ones 12 minutes after that, and the one I had right before Mom called you was 11 minutes after those."

"That sounds like the real thing to me," Jamie replied. "I called Commissioner McKay, he's having Steven's captain locate the fire safety van and pull him off the detail. What do you think, Eddie?" Jamie asked looking for his wife to confirm it was hospital time.

"I'd have to agree with you, Jamie. I mean, they're still pretty far apart, but getting closer."

"Do you want to go to the hospital with me and Mom or try to wait here for Steven?" Jamie asked Lila.

"The sooner, the better," said Lila as she pushed herself up out of the chair. "I know if we get there and it's not real labor, they'll probably send us home, but I really think this is it."

"Well then," replied Jamie. "Let's go. Steven will meet us there. Uncle Danny will drive Grandpa." Jamie grabbed Lila's baby bag and began helping her out the door with Eddie monitoring both of their steps from behind.

Eddie noticed Lila tensing, "So, I guess all the tricks you tried to induce labor might have worked after all," she commented lightly as the SUV pulled out into traffic.

"It sure looks that way from here," Lila replied. "Even if not, it was a really ni- oh, dammit!" She laid her head back on the headrest and took slow, deep breaths as another contraction hit her.

"Just keep breathing, Kitten" Jamie gently advised. "We'll be at the hospital as fast as we can."

"I'm Okay," said Lila as the contraction finally ended and she caught her breath again. "That was the worst one so far."

"You handled it really well though" said Eddie as she took her daughter's hand. "You're going to do just fine with this Lila."

"Are you ready for this?" Jamie asked, always the worrywart.

"Definitely," Lila answered, a big smile gracing her face. "I'm ready for everything they could possibly throw at me, and knowing Steven the way I do, that could be just about anything." Steven had an adventurous side that assisted him in being a terrific firefighter.

"Since these contractions are merely a preview of what's yet to come" Lila laughed. "By the end I may be literally throwing things at him."

"That's fine, honey," Eddie replied. "I almost took your father's eye out when I had your brother." They pulled into the hospital parking lot. "We are both here for you, and any minute Steven will be too. Everything is going to be all right." Eddie hugged Lila tight.

"I know it is," replied Lila. "Dad, did they say how long until Steven gets here?"

"Probably a half hour," Jamie replied as the SUV pulled up to the hospital doors. "Do you want me to run in and get a wheelchair?"

"No, it's fine. "I can walk, no problem."

Jamie got out first, followed by Eddie. She held Lila's hand helping her step out of the SUV. The three of them walked hand-in-hand to the entrance, hoping the next contraction would wait until they made it inside. No such luck.

"OW! Dammit, that hurts!" cursed Lila as they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Breathe, Lila" encouraged Eddie. "It'll let up in a minute and we'll get you inside."

Lila nodded and breathed as best she could, holding tight to both of her parents' hands for support.

"There," she said after a short while. "It's better now, let's go." They walked the rest of the way to the hospital doors, and once inside Lila took a seat while Jaie went up to the desk.

"Yes, sir, how may I help you?" asked the nurse behind the desk.

"My daughter is in labor," Jamie replied. "She's pre-registered, Mrs. Lila Reag..Tenney. Lila Tenney." The nurse typed a few things into the computer, then went to a file drawer next to her and flipped through it.

"Here we are," she said as she pulled a file from the drawer. "Tenney, she's Dr. Mianni's patient, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Jamie replied. "Uh-oh, we forgot to call her, is she on duty today?"

"Yes, sir, she is," replied the nurse. "I'll get you taken up to the maternity floor and have them page her for you."

"Thank you." Jamie smiled with relief.

"I need Lila to come up here for just a moment," said the nurse. "I need to get her armband put on."

Eddie helped Lila over to the registration desk, "Here we go, Lila" said the nurse as she put Lila's armband on. "I've got a wheelchair here for you as well."

"I'll take it." She carefully sat down in the wheelchair, and lifted her feet up so the nurse could lower the foot rests.

"Okay, you're all set. Let's get you upstairs."

"Lead the way," said Jamie. He followed the nurse, who pushed Lila's wheelchair, to the elevators down the hall. Moments later, they arrived on the maternity floor, and were led to the nurses' station to check in.

The nurse who'd taken them up handed Lila's file to a nurse at the desk, and gave her a brief run-down of the situation.

"Lila Tenney, Dr. Mianni's patient, 41 weeks, pre-eclampsia from 30 weeks on," she said, "Contracting every 10-14 minutes for the past 2 hours."

"Alright, Lila," said the nurse at the maternity desk. "Let's get you into a room and see what's happening with your babies." She pushed Lila's wheelchair down the hall a short distance and made a left turn into a brightly lit room.

"There's a gown on the bed for you, and once you get changed, we'll get you hoOkayed up to the fetal monitor and we'll check your cervix to see how many centimeters dilated you are."

"Okay," Lila whispered as she got up from the wheelchair. The nurse took the chair out of the room and closed the door to give Lila some privacy. She really wanted Steven now.

Eddie asked Jamie to step out, "Call Steven," she mouthed to him then turned her attention to Lila. "You need any help with this?" Eddie asked as she took the gown off the bed and handed it to her daughter.

"I don't think so," she said as she took the gown and headed to the bathroom in the corner of the room.

"Let me know if you change your mind" Eddie offered. Eddie paced while Lila changed into the gown. Her baby was about to have her own babies…twins…It was nerve wracking but Lila needed them both to be calm now.

"Can you tie this for me?" Lila asked him as she emerged from the bathroom clad in the light blue gown.

"Sure." Eddie was glad to be able to do something tangible while they waited for Jamie to return with news of Steven. "There you go, all tied. Why don't you get in bed and I'll go let the nurse know she can come hooked up the monitors while I check in with Dad about Steven's progress.

"Okay," agreed Lila. Eddie helped her get into bed and covered up, then she kissed her forehead before leaving the room.

"Lila is ready for the monitors and whatever else needs to be done right now," Eddie told the nurse. "I'm just going to check in with my husband."

"Yes, ma'am," the nurse replied. "I think your son-in-law arrived, I saw your husband speaking to a young man just a minute ago."

"Thank you," Eddie replied. "I'll be right back." She hurried to find Jamie and Steven heading back toward Lila's room. "Thank God you are here," Eddie said giving Steven a hug. "She's being brave but she was starting to ask for you."

Within 5 minutes, the three of them were back in Lila's room.

 **A/N: So it begins. Lila's labor is beginning and her family will soon be gathered around her with much love to anticipate the new arrivals. Be patient, like a real life labor, this procedure will take some time. A few more chapters…This story has forty one in all…**

 **Next update – June 20** **th** **– Lila's labor continues, and the family arrives.**


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty Six

"Just in time" said Lila reaching out for anyone's hand.

"In time for what?" asked Steven, as Jamie set the suitcase down against the wall in the far corner of the room.

"Contraction," said Lila, reaching out for her husband. "Get over here!" The nurse was just about to check Lila's cervix when it hit, so she stepped back and let Steven in to take Lila's hand. It had been almost exactly 14 minutes since the contraction she'd had on the way into the hospital.

"That's good," Steven coached. "Just breathe…" Lila didn't say anything this time, instead concentrating on her breathing as best she could.

"That wasn't too terrible" she said once the pain let up. "Bad enough, but I know they'll get a lot worse before we're finished."

"You did good, babe," said Steven, bringing her hand up to kiss it. "I'm glad I got here in time so you didn't have to do that by yourself."

"I could've done it," said Lila, the Reagan in her shining through.

"I know you could've done it," said Steven. "But I want to be here for everything, just like I promised I would be."

"I know you do, babe," said Lila with a smile. "Oh hey, did they page Dr. Mianni yet?"

"Yes, Lila," said the nurse, "She should be up within the hour. Can I check your progress now?"

"Sure." The nurse pressed a button on the bed and lowered the head several inches.

"Just lay back and relax as much as you can," said the nurse. "Might be a bit less uncomfortable that way."

"Okay," said Lila, laying back and holding tight to Steven's hand. Jamie and Eddie stepped into the hallway to give the young couple some privacy.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Lila," said the nurse as she moved her fingers around slowly. "Feels like you're about 4 centimeters dilated right now, and the baby's head is at about a minus two station."

"That means we've got six centimeters to go before she can push, and right now the baby's head is still two centimeters above the cervix, right?" asked Steven.

"Very good, Steven!" exclaimed the nurse as she finished the exam and pulled the sheet back down over Lila's legs. "I can see someone paid close attention in childbirth class!"

"I tried to," said Steven. "I wanted to come into this knowing as much as I could."

"Impressive, huh?" Lila asked the nurse.

"Very," she said. "I've been doing this for 5 years, and never have I seen a dad who knew that much this early in labor." Steven smiled and blushed a little.

"So what do we do now?" asked Lila.

"I need to get your IV started," replied the nurse. "Dr. Mianni will be up shortly and she'll want to check you then, and we'll be keeping a close eye on your blood pressure and the baby's heart rate. Aside from that, we'll just let nature be nature."

"Is there any mention of our birth plan in the Lila's file?" asked Steven.

The nurse opened Lila's file and looked through several pages before she found the birth plan. "Yes, Sir," she replied. "Right here. It says you'll ask for pain medication if you feel it becomes necessary. Is that still your plan?"

"Yes, it is," answered Lila. "I'd also like to walk around as much as possible and maybe get in the whirlpool after a while."

"I think we can accommodate you there," the nurse replied. "Let me go get what I need to start your IV, and once we get that going, you can walk around the corridor if you want to while we wait for Dr. Mianni."

"Okay, great," said Lila. As the nurse left the room, Steven walked over to his jacket and fished his cell phone out of the pocket.

"Who are you calling?" asked Lila.

"For starters," he replied. "My parents and Sully. I think your folks called everyone on your side of the family."

"Oops. We promised your mom we'd call as soon as we left for the hospital, and we forgot."

"Yeah, but she'll understand." said Steven. "I've got to go outside to use this, will you be okay for about 10 minutes?"

"Sure. My folks are right outside if I need them. They should have the IV done by the time you get back, and then we can make laps around the halls, should be real exciting!"

"Okay, I'll hurry back, don't deliver while I'm gone, got it?"

"Go make your calls, goofball!" laughed Lila. Steven gave her a big smile as he headed out the door. Shortly thereafter, the nurse returned to do Lila's IV.

"Would you prefer it in the back of your hand?" asked the nurse. "Or the back of your forearm?"

"Forearm, definitely," answered Lila. "I'll never understand how people can stand having those things in the back of their hands!"

"I guess it doesn't bother some folks as much as others, Lila" replied the nurse as she rubbed Lila's left forearm with an alcohol wipe. "I'm going to inject a little numbing agent first, so that should be the only needle stick you feel."

"Okay" said Lila, looking the opposite direction. She felt the little stick of the numbing agent, and she felt the pressure of the IV going into her arm, but it wasn't really painful.

"All finished, Lila," said the nurse as she applied the last piece of tape to Lila's arm to hold things in place.

"Great. I need to use the restroom."

"Sure, Lila, go ahead." Lila went to get out of bed just as the next contraction hit. She laid back down in the bed and grabbed a fistful of the sheet with both hands.

"Breathe, Lila," said the nurse. "Do you want your Mom?"

"I'm breathing!" Lila snapped. "This isn't the first contraction I've had, you know!"

"Sorry," the nurse replied gently. "Would you like me to do anything for you?"

"No," said Lila in between breaths. "Steven will be back any moment."

"Yeah, she's still go a while to go," Steven told his mother. "I'll call you when she gets a little closer. I love you too," Steven told his mother as Danny hurried into the hospital with Frank. "Hey, Steven, how's my little bit?" Frank asked patting the young, soon to be father on the back.

"She's okay, only four centimeters," Steven sighed. "Get comfortable"

"Let her take her time, you better get back, they get really touchy if you are gone too long at this stage," Danny advised settling Frank down in a comfortable chair.

Steven hurried back to Lila's room and found her contracting. "Oh Lila," Steven exclaimed. "I'm sorry!" He set his phone down on the bedside table and Lila reached out her hand towards him. He took her hand and held it in both of his own, and within another minute, the contraction was over.

"What took you so long?" asked Lila as she laid her head back onto the pillow.

"My mom wouldn't stop asking questions," he admitted. "I finally had to cut her off and tell her I'll call her back later. Then I ran into your uncle and grandpa, I'm sorry I didn't make it back up here sooner, babe."

"It's okay," replied Lila. "Is the rest of my family here yet?"

"Yep" he said, "Your Mom and Dad are just down the hall. Danny and your Grandpa just got here and Joey went with Erin to get everyone coffee and juices. Jack is at 1 PP and Sean's on duty but he'll be here soon. Everyone is where they need to be for as long as we need them to be here."

"I'm trying not to think too much about how long it might take," said Lila.

"Just keep in mind what we'll have to show for it when it's over, babe," said Steven with a smile. Lila smiled and rubbed her tummy just a bit.

"How about we go for a walk?" she asked him.

"Sounds good. Can you get up by yourself?"

"Yeah," Lila replied "And in fact I was getting up and heading to the restroom when that last contraction hit, so that's my first stop before we go anywhere!"

"Understood." Lila got out of the bed and rolled her IV pole beside herself to the restroom.

"Can you get my robe out of the suitcase, please?" she asked him when she came out of the restroom.

"Yeah," he answered. He went over and opened the suitcase, moved a few things out of the way, and pulled out her light purple, terry cloth robe.

"I'm not sure we can get this on you with that IV, babe" said Steven as he thought about it a little.

"Oh, crap," said Lila. "Maybe the nurse can come unhooked it so we can get the robe on?"

"I'll go ask," he said, "hang on." Steven walked to the nurses' station, and returned a moment later with Lila's nurse, and she was carrying another hospital gown.

"I've got something that'll work better than trying to put your robe on, Lila" said the nurse. "We can unsnap this at the shoulders and put it over your arms from the back, then re-snap it. It'll accomplish the same thing as the robe and it'll be a lot easier to get on and off."

"Fine with me" said Lila. "As long as I'm covered up, I don't much care what it's with!"

The nurse helped Lila get the second gown on, and then Steven took the IV pole in one hand and Lila's hand in the other as the two of them began their walk. They walked passed another couple who was doing the same thing they were.

"Must be a popular pastime," joked Lila as they rounded a corner.

"Hey, it must work or nobody would do it," said Steven. Lila squeezed his hand really tightly and stopped walking.

"Here, Lila," he said, letting go of the IV pole and taking a hold of her arms. Remembering what they'd learned in their childbirth class, he pulled her arms up around his neck, and she leaned the top of her head against his chest. She looked down at the white tile floor and concentrated on breathing.

"Oh, God this hurts," she whimpered.

"I know it does, babe," said Steven softly. "But you're doing great, just keep breathing." Lila nodded as she slowly let out a breath.

"There," she said a minute or so later. "Over."

"Great job," Steven praised as he leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips. "Wanna keep going?"

"Yeah," said Lila, and they began walking towards the end of the hall. As they were almost back to their room, they saw Dr. Mianni at the nurses' station.

"Hello, Lila," said the doctor when she noticed Steven and Lila approaching her. "How are you doing?"

"At this moment," said Lila. "Good. Ask me in another 10 minutes or so, and you'll probably get a different answer!"

Dr. Mianni laughed. "So you're still contracting about every 10 - 12 minutes?"

"Yeah," replied Lila. "Is that good?"

"It's fine this early on," said the doctor. "Of course you know that the further along your labor goes, the closer together and the stronger we need your contractions to be, but for now you're doing fine. How are you doing, Steven?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "But then I'm not the one in labor!"

"No, but as things really get going," said the doctor. "You'll find yourself doing a lot more than you might realize just yet."

"I'll be glad to do anything she needs me to do." Steven kissed Lila's brow.

"He's been great, doctor," said Lila. "So far, I haven't had any urges to hurt him!"

"Again," laughed Dr. Mianni. "Give it time! Why don't we head back to your room so I can check and see how you're progressing?"

"Okay," said Lila, and they all made their way a short distance down the hall. Once in the room, Steven helped Lila out of the second gown and into the bed.

"Better hurry, doctor," said Lila as she laid down and bent her knees. "We've got about 4 minutes until the next contraction."

"I'm all set" replied Dr. Mianni as she sat on the edge of Lila's bed and moved the sheet aside. "I'll be gentle and quick, I promise."

"I know you will," said Lila. She winced and jumped just a little as the doctor examined her, but it wasn't anything she couldn't tolerate. Steven stood beside her and caressed the back of her hand.

"Well," said Dr. Mianni as she pulled the sheet back over Lila's legs. "No change from before, still dilated to four centimeters and the head is still at minus two."

"Are you serious?" asked Lila in a tone of surprise combined with disappointment.

"I'm serious, Lila," replied the doctor. "Don't worry about it though, it's still very early and your pattern of contractions is well within the normal range."

"What about everything else?" asked Steven. "Blood pressure, baby's heart rate?"

"Everything so far is just fine, Steven," answered the doctor as she glanced again at the printout from the fetal monitor and at the screens on the others.

"Can we walk around some more?" asked Lila.

"Sure, go right ahead."

"At what point would it become a problem to still only be dilated to four centimeters?" asked Lila.

"I'll give you another couple of hours," said Dr. Mianni. "And if the next time either I or the nurse checks you we find you haven't progressed any, we'll talk about a couple options for helping things along, okay?"

"Okay," said Lila.

"Anything else you'd like to ask me?' said the doctor.

"Not that I can think of," said Lila. "Babe?"

"Nothing here," replied Steven.

"Okay then" said Dr. Mianni. "Go ahead and walk as much as you'd like to and unless you feel we need to check you sooner, we'll do it again in a couple hours."

"Thank you, doctor," said Steven. Dr. Mianni left the room, and Lila began to cry.

 **A/N: So far so good for Lila's labor. She's working hard to bring the newest Reagan's to the clan. We are in the homestretch of this story now, there are a total of forty one chapters…One of Our Own – the next story in the series will debut shortly after this one concludes.**

 **Next Update – June 22** **nd** **– Lila's labor continues and Lila and Steven try to move her labor along.**


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty Seven

"Hey, don't cry, sweetheart. Don't cry." Steven pulled her close, "It's okay, everything's fine."

"I've been in labor for almost 4 hours and nothing is changing," she cried. "I know what the 'options' are if I haven't made and progress by the time they check me again, and I don't want either of them."

"Let's not think about those just yet, okay?" he said as he brushed the tears off her face. "Let's get this other gown back on you and let's go make as many laps around these halls as we can, and we'll see what happens from there."

Lila nodded and stood up so Steven could help her into the other gown. Just as she did, the next contraction hit.

"Oowwwww!" she said, grabbing a hold of his shoulders.

"Put your arms around my neck like before," Steven coached. "And your head here, there you go, just like that." They stood beside the bed and swayed back and forth a little bit as Lila took slow, careful breaths. As the pain drew to a close, there was a familiar face at the door.

"Hi, Mom!" said Lila, a little out of breath. "Come on in, you just missed the fun!"

"I gathered that," replied Eddie. "Are they getting really bad?"

"Not too bad yet," said Lila. "I'm able to breathe through them."

"And I'm still standing!" joked Steven. Eddie laughed and agreed with him. "So, what has the doctor said? I just saw her leaving and Joey and Dad are chomping at the bit for news."

"Dilated to four centimeters and the head is at minus two," said Lila. "That's where I was when we first got here as well as where I was when my doctor checked me a few minutes ago, but she said things are going well for now and we'll give it a couple more hours before we talk about doing anything to nudge things along."

"Okay, cool. It took me a long time to get past six with your brother then it was fast. I hope it goes that way for you, too, honey. I know it's hard." Eddie sympathized with her daughter, she actually knew how much it hurt. "Have they had you out walking the halls?"

"Yeah," replied Steven. "We've been out there some and that's where we're headed now if you'd like to join us."

"Sure," said Eddie. "The men are driving me up a wall out there right now." Steven helped Lila get back into the second gown, and he took Lila's hand while Eddie handled the IV pole this time. They managed to make two complete laps before the next contraction hit. Steven stopped and leaned against the wall while Lila put her arms around his neck and her head onto his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, it was comforting to her.

"Very good, Lila," Eddie praised when Lila lifted her head up and let her arms slide off of Steven's neck. She was proud of her daughter.

"Thanks. It'd be a little easier to do that if someone wasn't so tall." She looked at Steven and smiled.

"I'm sorry, babe. I'll try to lean down more from now on," Steven offered

"I'm just teasing you, Steven," said Lila. "You're doing great, don't change a thing."

"You two are so perfect together," Eddie laughed. "You remind me of Dad and me. Real partners."

"You think so?" asked Lila. That was high praise, she always admired her parents' marriage.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Eddie exclaimed. "You are soul mates if ever two people were soul mates, except for me and Dad. Even your father admitted that to me."

"I think so, too" smiled Steven. "And it means a lot coming from you, Eddie. I just wish I had asked her to marry me even sooner than I did."

"Hey, no regrets, remember?" said Lila. "Today is all about the here and now, and what we're doing now is walking so hopefully these babies will decide to be born sometime this week!"

"Yes, dear!" said Steven as he gave Lila a mock salute.

"Goofball!" she said as she playfully swatted his chest. They walked through the halls for another half hour before stopping for a bathroom break, then they walked for another 45 minutes, stopping for 3 more contractions before heading back to Lila's room.

"See if the nurse will come check me, please?" Lila asked Steven as Eddie helped her get back into the bed.

"It's been almost 2 hours," said Steven. "I'm sure she will. I'll be right back." He returned a few minutes later followed by the nurse.

"How are you feeling, Lila?" the nurse asked Lila.

"Kind of tired," answered Lila. "But pretty good I guess."

"Good," said the nurse. "Go ahead and lay back and we'll see if all that walking made any difference for you."

"I sure hope it did," said Lila as she bent her knees again and tried to relax. She didn't jump this time when the nurse touched her cervix, and she wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

"Well?" asked Lila when she felt the nurse take her hand out.

"Sorry, hon," said the nurse. "Still no change. You've got some stubborn little ones in there!"

"Gee," said Steven. "Wonder where they could have gotten that from?"

"Take your pick!" snapped Lila. "Dr. Mianni said there were a couple of things we could talk about doing in the event that I hadn't progressed any by now, do you know what they are?" she asked the nurse.

"Yes, Lila," answered the nurse. "She said we can either break your water, or we can start you on a drug to make your contractions stronger."

"I don't want any drugs," said Lila firmly. "At least not that particular one and not right now."

"Okay, Lila," the nurse agreed. "How do you feel about letting the doctor break your water?"

"What exactly is involved there?" asked Steven.

"It's a very quick and simple procedure," answered the nurse. "The doctor would insert a plastic 'stick' with a small hook at the end of it through the Lila's cervix and rupture the amniotic sac around the baby."

"That sounds painful!" said Lila.

"It can be a bit uncomfortable, Lila, but it's not usually too painful. Do you need a few minutes to talk about it perhaps?"

"Actually," said Lila. "What about getting into the whirlpool? Could we try that instead?"

"I think so," replied the nurse. "Dr. Mianni said that you'd indicated a desire to try that if possible, so let me go page her and double check, and if she says now's a good time for that, we'll get you set up."

"Thank you," said Lila as the nurse left the room. "I really hope they'll let us try the pool, I don't want those drugs and I sure don't want them "rupturing' anything in there!"

"I know, sweetie," said Steven hugging her. Eddie stroked Lila's hair, "Just remember that it is totally worth it honey. When you hold those babies, you won't remember this part, I promise you. I'm going to update everyone and I'll come back a little later. If you need any of us or want us, you just call and we'll be right here."

The nurse returned about 10 minutes later after speaking with the doctor. Lila was sitting on the side of the bed, breathing through the end of the latest contraction. Steven was kneeling in front of her so she could wrap her arms around him, and Eddie was rubbing her lower back. Lila had asked her to wait, she wanted her mother until she knew if she and Steven could use the whirlpool tub.

"Good news," the nurse announced. "You can try the tub!"

"Oh, good!" said Lila. "Just show me where to go and I'm there!"

"It's down the hall just a bit," said the nurse.

"He's allowed to get in, too, right?" Lila asked pointing to Steven.

"As long as you remembered to pack his swim suit, Lila," said the nurse. "Otherwise he'll need to just sit on the edge of the tub."

"I've got my swim suit, Lila packed it four months ago," said Steven. "It's one of the first things she packed!"

"Wonderful! If you'd like to get it, we'll all head down the hall." Steven went over to the suitcase, grabbed his American flag patterned Tommy Hilfiger swim suit and Lila's red bikini top, and they started out towards the whirlpool room.

"I think I'll go update the family now, but you need me, you call." Eddie kissed her daughter's head softly and headed to the waiting room where Jamie paced anxiously.

"Jamison, sit down," Frank ordered. "I know it's tough to wait but that's what labor is all about. Park it."

"I can't, Dad. It's taking Eddie a long time, what if Lila is really struggling and needs her Mom and…"

"Jamie, we have been her so many times before, waiting on baby to be born, only this time you're the grand and I'm the great…You'll get Eddie excited if she sees you pacing the halls."

Just then Eddie emerged, "You got that right. Jamie, where is your cane?" Eddie shook her head. "She's doing well, still dilated to four, still at minus two but they are heading into the whirlpool to hopefully get things going."

"But she's all right?" Joey asked. Molly looked up at him and laughed, "You and yer father both…"

"Yes, she is. It's just moving slow, but you took your time too, young man," Eddie laughed and playfully swatted Joey on the arm.

Back in the whirlpool room, the nurse was assisting with getting Lila situated. "Okay, Lila, let the Steven get in first, then you can sit down with your back to him." Steven carefully climbed into the tub, then held his hands up to help Lila in.

"Careful, sweetie," he said. "There you go, sit down, all right, you comfortable?"

"Oh yeah," she said as she let out a long sigh. "This is gonna help a lot, I can tell already."

"I'll leave you two alone for a while," said the nurse. "There's a call button on the wall right here if you need anything, Okay?"

The nurse left the couple alone to see if the soothing waters would help Lila's labor progress.

"Isn't this great?" Lila asked him after the nurse had left. The water was just right, not too hot or too cold, and the massaging jets were on enough to create a relaxing ripple in the water.

"Yeah, it's really nice," agreed Steven. "How long do you think we'll have to sit in here?"

"Forever," said Lila as she leaned her head back against Steven's chest.

"Well, I sure hope not," he said. "Considering why we're in here in the first place!"

"Yeah, yeah…" said Lila. "Speaking of that…" He felt her body tense up against his and he knew she was contracting again.

"Breathe through it, Lila" he said softly. "That's it…again…good…another…good…"

"Ow! Ow!" she said between breaths.

"You're doing great, babe," he said. "Just keep breathing…it'll be over soon…"

"Whew," said Lila as she let out the last breath she'd been hanging on to.

"Getting worse?" asked Steven as he lifted her hair up off her neck.

"A little maybe," she admitted "But it's hard to know for sure since the water is helping with the pain."

"You're doing an amazing job. I want you to know that."

"So are you" she said, looking up at him. He leaned down and their lips met lovingly.

"This is almost as nice as the bubble bath we took together last week." said Lila.

"Almost as nice?" questioned Steven. "What was nicer about that?"

"It had bubbles and candles," answered Lila.

"Yeah, but this one has us having our babies," replied Steven. He put his hands on Lila's tummy and she put hers atop his, just as they'd done in the bubble bath, only this time they both choked up a bit.

Lila and Steven stayed in the pool another hour. Slowly but surely, Lila's contractions grew stronger. "Breathe, Lila" said Steven as another contraction began. "Just like that…good…"

"Owwww…" moaned Lila as she did her best to breathe through her pain. She had her feet against the end of the tub and was pushing herself back against Steven's body as the pain grew stronger.

"Squeeze my hand, babe," said Steven as he took her hand and held it tight. Lila squeezed his hand pretty hard, but it didn't bother him at all considering the pain she was in.

"Oh God," she said as the pain tapered off. "That was definitely the worst one so far!"

"That's good though," said Steven, choosing his words carefully, unsure when the pain would cause Lila's Reagan temper to smart. "That they're getting stronger I mean."

"I know it's what has to happen, but I've never had pain like this before and it scares me to think about how much worse it's gonna get before the babies come out."

"Don't think about it like that," Steven advised. "We'll just take it as it comes and deal with it and then move on to the next one. I'm right here with you, Lila, you don't have to do this alone."

"I know," Lila laid her head on Steven's chest. "I think the fear of it all is starting to get to me."

"I'm scared, too," Steven confessed, rubbing her shoulders tenderly. "But so far everything has gone well and you're doing a great job, and every contraction you have is one step closer to having the babies."

"How are we doing in here?" asked the nurse, opening the door enough to peek inside.

"We're good," said Steven. "She's had 5 contractions, and the last one was noticeably stronger than the rest."

"Great! Are you ready to get out, or do you want to stay in a little longer?"

"Can we have maybe another half hour?" asked Lila.

"Yes, Lila," replied the nurse. "Dr. Mianni wants to check you again within the hour, but you can stay in here a bit longer, not a problem."

"Thank you," said Steven. The nurse closed the door and left them to enjoy the tub in peace again.

"We need one of these at home," Lila sighed as she relaxed between contractions.

"A labor tub?" asked Steven.

"No, silly," said Lila. "A whirlpool tub. Wouldn't it be nice to have in the master bathroom?"

"Hmmm…I believe you're right, my love" said Steven. "I'm envisioning a quiet evening, candlelight, maybe some soft music…"

"Hold that thought," said Lila as she reached out for Steven's hand. He didn't say anything this time, knowing that she knew the drill quite well by then.

"How far apart were those last two?" he asked her once the pain had passed.

"Only eight minutes. We're making progress if I dare say so myself!"

"Do you still wanna stay here for a while longer?" asked Steven. "Or should we go back to the room and let them check you?"

"Let's head back," said Lila. "I'd like to know exactly how much closer we are to 'push time'." Lila slid forward a little in the tub so Steven could stand up behind her and get out. Once his feet were on the mat beside the tub, he reached over and helped Lila step slowly out.

"Here you go, babe," he said, handing her a towel and her gowns. He grabbed his uniform from the chair. "I'm going to go get dressed."

"Hang on," said Lila. "Don't you wanna put on your civvies instead of your uniform?"

"Oh yeah," said Steven, "I guess I do. They're still in the suitcase."

"It's Okay," said Lila as she slipped her gowns back on. "Just wrap your towel around your waist and you can change clothes in the bathroom once we get back to the room."

"You want me to walk out of here without a shirt on?" asked Steven as he tied her gown for her.

"Oh, Steven," Lila laughed. "It's all of a fifteen foot walk back to the room, no one is going to care!"

"Good point," he said as he wrapped his towel around his waist. Even as tired as she already was, Lila couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked right then.

"Ready?" he asked her, taking his uniform, shoes and Lila's bikini top in one armload.

"Let's go," she said. They made it back to the room just in time for the next contraction.

 **A/N: These babies are likely to be 100% Reagan given how long they are taking to make their way out of there. Steven and Eddie are doing a good job of keeping Lila focused though, shouldn't be too much longer.**

 **Next Update – Jamie visits his baby girl as she labors, Lila's labor quickly accelerates after some medical intervention.**


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty Eight

Jamie had wanted to go and see his little girl. He was waiting for Lila and Steven when they walked in. Jamie looked up at Steven's state of undress and raised his eyebrow.

"Hey, Jamie," said Steven dropping the clothes on the floor. "Sorry, give us just a moment here."

"No problem," Jamie replied. "You do whatever my Kitten needs you to do then for Heaven's sake put your clothes on."

"Thanks," said Steven as Lila locked her fingers together behind his neck and once more buried her head against his chest. They rocked slowly, right to left, and Lila breathed through it all.

The father in Jamie couldn't help but gently rub Lila's back while she worked through the contraction. Eddie never had the opportunity for such support.

When the contraction was over, Lila smiled at her father. "Glad that's over for now," she said as she released her fingers and stepped back. "I'm ready to get back in bed."

"Can I help with anything?" asked Jamie. He wanted to be involved, if only a little bit with the coming of his grandchildren, but didn't want to infringe on this moment.

"Sure," said Steven. "You can help her get settled in bed while I get out of these wet swimming trunks."

"Got it," Jamie replied. "Hey, after you get dressed, why don't you go take a snack break?"

"I'm not hungry right now," said Steven as he dug his clothes out of the suitcase. "Besides, things are starting to pick up now and I can't miss anything."

"Steven, you haven't eaten in a while," said Lila. "I know you're hungry, go have a snack."

"But I -" He began to say when Lila cut him off.

"No buts," she ordered. "Yes things are beginning to happen, we think, and this might be your only chance to duck out for 10 minutes and not miss anything to speak of. Now for my sake and that of our children, go find the cafeteria, get yourself something good and then come back, okay? My parents are here."

"Well, when you put it like that," Steven laughed. "How could I refuse?"

"Good answer!" said Lila. She laid back in the bed as Steven went into the bathroom to change his clothes. He emerged a couple minutes later dressed in a white "Property of FDNY " T-shirt and a pair of faded Levi's.

"Much better," he said as he sat down in a chair to put his socks and tennis shoes on. Jamie glared at his choice of attire. He had purchased twin NYPD onesies for the twins.

Once Steven had his shoes on and headed down for his snack, Jamie had Joey and Frank back to visit with Lila. "How's he treating you through all this?" Frank asked. He liked Steven even though he didn't want to.

"I doubt there's another guy in the universe who'd do as well with this as he's done," said Lila proudly. "Actually, who'd do as well with the last 8 months as he's done? We went through some brutal stuff, and because he wouldn't let us give up, here we are."

"Like I said before, Lila" said Eddie as she stepped into the room to be ready for when it was time to deliver. "You're a perfect match." Eddie looped her arms around Jamie's neck and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks" smiled Lila, a smile which soon faded from her face. "Oh boy…"

"Another one?" asked Jamie.

Lila nodded and grabbed the side rail on the bed as she rolled onto her side.

"Want me to rub your back?" asked Eddie.

Lila nodded.

"What can I do?" asked Joey.

"Just sit next to her, sweetie," said Eddie. "She knows what to do, it'll be over in a few minutes."

"You're doing great, Lil," Joey soothed. "That monitor thing is going down now…it's flat…" Joey offered his sister some ice chips.

Lila had two more contractions before Steven returned. Frank and Joey had left to update the rest of the family, leaving Jamie and Eddie to tend to Lila. She had just finished a contraction when Steven returned.

"Has Dr. Mianni been in yet?" Steven asked, anxious himself for a report.

"Not yet," said Lila. "But she should be any time now."

"How does right now work for you?" asked Dr. Mianni as she entered the room.

"Sounds good!" laughed Lila.

"I see you're contracting closer together now," said the doctor as she looked at the printout from the fetal monitor.

"Yep," said Lila. "We're down to every 8-9 minutes now. Not much difference, but hey, I'll take it!"

"Indeed," agreed the doctor. "You ready for me to check you?"

Lila nodded, Jamie and Eddie stepped outside to give the young couple their privacy.

Dr. Mianni sat on the edge of Lila's bed and did the exam, finishing up just seconds before the next contraction.

"Good news," she said as Lila was breathing through the pain. "You're now dilated to between a 5 and 6!"

"Oh…I'm glad," said Lila between breaths. It felt great to hear all the pain was producing results.

"I'm pleased with everything right now," said the doctor. "So unless you'd like to, we don't really need to do anything right now to speed things up."

"I think we're okay for now, doctor" said Steven as Lila squeezed his hand tight. "But if anything changes, we'll let you know."

"Sounds good, Steven," said Dr. Mianni. "Now that Lila is far enough along to have pain meds, I'll make sure the nurses remember not to offer her any. I told them before, but I'll mention it again while I'm out there."

"Thanks," said Steven. As the doctor left the room, Lila's contraction let up.

"What was that she said about pain meds?" she asked as she laid back against her pillow.

"Just that she'll make sure the nurses remember that if you want any, you'll ask for them," said Steven. "Why, are you thinking you want something?"

"No, but I can definitely see why most women do!"

"I know, Lila" smiled Steven. "I'm so excited, aren't you?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that," she said. Steven was puzzled at her answer for a split second, then he realized she was contracting again.

"Here, Lila," he said as he knelt in front of her. "Just like before…"

"Dammit, this hurts," she cried.

"Want to stand up?" he asked her softly. "Would that help?"

"Maybe" she cried.

"Let's try it," he replied as he helped her slowly to her feet. Once standing, she locked her fingers together behind his neck, just like before, and laid her head on his chest. She had been leaning the top of her had against his chest, but this time she didn't feel like doing that. They swayed back and forth as she breathed, and eventually the pain let up.

"Bad one, huh babe?" he asked as he brushed her bangs off her sweaty forehead. She pulled the rest of her hair back in a scrunchie.

"Ya think?" she replied harshly, and for the first time Steven got a taste of what laid in store for him.

"I'm sorry" he said. "That was a stupid question. Can I get you anything?"

"I need to pee again. Can you get that IV pole, please?"

"Of course I can," he replied, taking the pole and walking alongside Lila to the bathroom.

"I got it from here" she said, "thanks."

"Welcome" said Steven. He popped his head out the door and looked down the hallway. Not too many people out there, didn't seem to be much going on. He went back over to the window and looked out over the city once more. It was so serene, so calm.

"Where are my parents?" Lila asked when she came back out of the bathroom. "I think I want my Mom to come back."

"Okay, sweetheart, I'll go and get her." Steven poked his head out but only found Jamie. "Lila's asking for her Mom."

"She went to get something to eat. I can stand in for her if…" Jamie pushed Steven aside. "Mom's getting dinner, Kitten."

"Okay," Lila nodded. "I'm seriously rethinking my position on the epidural, Dad!"

"Are you sure, Lila?" asked Steven. "I mean, I'm not about to try and tell you that you shouldn't have one if you think you need it, but try to remember how important it was to you to do with without any drugs."

"That was before I'd had any contractions! I'm not saying I want one yet, or even at all, but just so you know it's a little more of a possibility than I thought it would be."

"That's fine with me, babe," replied Steven. He knew better than to deny his wife pain medication with her father standing there. "If ever there was a time when I needed to defer to you on something, this is it."

"Very good answer!" proclaimed Jamie as he wiped Lila's face with a cloth. "You're okay, sweetie. Mom will be back soon."

Before Eddie returned, the nurse entered the room. "Time to check you again."

"Guess that means back to the bed," said Lila as she stood up from the rocking chair.

"Trust me, Lila," said the nurse. "It's a whole lot less uncomfortable if I check you in the bed as opposed to in that chair!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" joked Lila as she got back in the bed. Steven stood at her side and held her hand as the nurse proceeded with the exam.

"Oh, God!" exclaimed Lila. "That hurts!" She was unintentionally pulling back away from the nurse because of the pain.

"Try to lay still for me, Lila" said the nurse. "I'm almost done."

"It's okay, Lila" Steven soothed as Jamie stared at him. He remembered when Eddie would cry out during her exams, he always wanted to do something, anything…Steven was so calm about it.

"It hurts!" she said again.

"I know it does, but you're doing fine."

"You'll like the news, Lila" said the nurse as she finished the exam and pulled the sheet down. "You're a good seven centimeters dilated now."

"Yes!" exclaimed Lila.

"And the baby's head is at a zero station" added the nurse. "At this rate, you should be able to start pushing within another couple of hours."

"Oh, I hope you're right about that," Lila sighed.

"If you'd like, Lila," said the nurse. "We can break your water now to maybe help things along a little faster, and then you can walk around the halls again if you feel like it?"

Lila looked up at Steven. "What do you think?"

"I think it's up to you, babe," he said. "If you don't have a problem with letting them do it, then maybe it's the way to go, but if you don't want to, that's fine."

"Yeah, let's do that," agreed Lila. "I'm ready to try just about anything to speed things up."

"Yes, Lila," said the nurse. "I'll go page Dr. Mianni and as soon as she gets up here, we'll come take care of that, okay?"

"Okay" said Lila. As the nurse was leaving, Eddie returned to the room.

"I am SO sorry, sweetie!" she exclaimed. "I never meant to be gone this long. The line was crazy. Jamie, I gave your sandwich to your Dad if you want to go out and update them. I saw Danny getting restless."

"What happened while I was gone?" asked Eddie.

"The nurse just checked me, and I'm now dilated to seven centimeters and the baby's head is at a zero station."

"Oh, yea!" exclaimed Eddie.

"So they're going to break my water and then let me walk around the halls again," Lila told her mother. "She said at this rate, I might be ready to push within a couple hours."

"It sure sounds like it!" said Eddie. "Did they page your doctor?"

"They paged me and I'm here!"

"How do you do that?" asked Steven.

"Do what?" replied the doctor.

"Always show up just when someone is asking where you are. It's freaky!"

"Oh, just a gift I guess," said the doctor with a little laugh. "I see we're really getting things underway now."

"It's about time, huh?" replied Lila.

"Oh, I know it seems like it's been forever," said the doctor. "But really, for a first labor, you're moving along fairly well."

"Well, that's good to hear," Lila smiled. "I was always an over achiever."

"If you'll lay the bed back a little more, I'll get this done up real quick." Lila pressed the button on the control panel of her bed, and the head slowly lowered.

"Lift up for just a minute, Lila," said the nurse as she held a big towel in her hands. "We need to put this underneath you or else your bed will get soaked."

"You'll feel this," said Dr. Mianni as she began the procedure. "But it shouldn't hurt too much."

"Okay," said Lila. As always, Steven was right beside her, holding her hand. Eddie stood on her other side. She never had to endure this particular procedure.

"Whoa!" said Lila as she felt a sudden gush.

"All done," said Dr. Mianni. "Fluid is clear, looks great, so we'll see if this doesn't help bump you up to a ten pretty soon."

"This feels disgusting," Lila griped.

"Yes, it does, but it'll end in a couple minutes, and you should be prepared for your contractions to come closer and stronger now, Okay."

"Thanks, doctor," said Steven.

"I'll be back in an hour, or sooner if you need me. Pressures and everything still look really good, so just keep doing what you're doing." said Dr. Mianni as she exited the room.

Sure enough, Lila's labor began to speed up and her contractions intensified. "Ow, Steven, ow!" said Lila as the first contraction after the procedure came on hard and strong. She laid on her side again, and he put his hands around hers as she clung to the bed rail.

"Breathe through it, babe," he coached. "There you go…yeah, just like that…"

"Can I rub your back?" Eddie asked Lila. Lila nodded wanting her mother's touch. She was glad she decided to have her in the delivery room.

"Oh my God!" said Lila. "This hurts so freakin' bad!"

"I know, Lila" said Steven. "You're almost through it, just a little bit longer." Another minute later, the worst of the pain was over.

"That sucked!" said Lila as she tried to catch her breath.

"You did awesome, though," Eddie encouraged.

"Yeah, you did," agreed Steven. "Do you still want to go for a walk?"

"Yeah, let's try it," said Lila. "Anything to get this all over with!" Steven helped her out of the bed, and Eddie brought over the second gown and helped her put it on. She took hold of the IV pole, and they were almost out the door when…

"No, no, stop!" said Lila. "Back to bed, now!"

"What's wrong?" asked Steven.

"I can't walk around right now! It hurts too much."

"That's okay. We'll go back to the bed." Steven was starting to get a little nervous at the pain Lila was in. He watched Eddie, if Lila's mother and mother of two wasn't worried, he'd keep his head.

"Owwwwww!" cried Lila as another brutal contraction began.

"You're okay, babe" Steven said, hoping to reassure her. "Here, put your arms up here." For what seemed like the millionth time since her labor began, Lila hung onto Steven's neck and together they moved back and forth in an effort to ease her agony.

"I can't do this!" sobbed Lila. "I want drugs!" Steven hated to hear her ask for drugs when she'd gone that far without any, but he knew better than to try and talk her out of them.

As soon as the contraction ended, Steven hurried to find the nurse. She agreed to drugs and quickly checked Lila before paging the doctor. "Sorry, Lila, I can't give you drugs now," said the nurse. "But you went from seven to ten centimeters in the last half an hour, and the baby's head is at a plus two station. You're ready to push!"

 **A/N: Thanks to all who have hung in there with Lila through three chapters of labor…I have never experienced it myself so special thanks to those who shared their wisdom with me.**

 **Next Update – June 26** **th** **– Babies Reagan arrive!**


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty Nine

"Really?" asked Lila.

"Yes, Lila," said the nurse.

"That's great, Lila!" exclaimed Steven.

"I'll go page your doctor, then we'll be right back in to get you set up for delivery."

"Okay," said Lila, breathless from the painful contractions that now seemed not to let up.

"Wow. You went really fast there at the end!"

"That would explain why that last contraction hurt so badly. You did that…I'm just glad we're at the hospital the time." said Eddie, her eyes shining.

"Speaking of that…" said Lila as she grabbed Steven's hand."OH my GOD! This hurts!"

"Lila" said Dr. Mianni. "Don't have the babies before we get set up, okay?"

"Very funny!" hissed Lila, not at all in a joking mood. As Lila continued working through the contraction, the doctor and nurses were busily setting out instruments and getting gloved and gowned.

"We need to break the end of your bed down, Lila," said one of the nurses. "We'll do that as soon as this one is over."

"Go ahead," said Lila, out of breath. "It's done for now."

"Alright, Lila" said Dr. Mianni. "On the next contraction, I need you to take a deep breath and let it out, then take another and hold it while you tuck your chin to your chest, bring your knees back as far as you can and push for a count of ten, okay?"

"Oh, God! There it is!"

"Okay, deep breath in, now let it out, good," the nurse directed. "Another breath in, hold it and push."

"Grab her knee like this, Steven," said Eddie. Steven took a hold of Lila's left knee and brought it towards her chest like Eddie was doing with the right one.

"…three, four, five…" said Steven.

"You're doing great, Lila," said the doctor.

"…eight, nine, ten." Lila let the breath out and dropped back onto her pillow.

"Rest for a moment, Lila" said the nurse. "Then we'll do it again with the next contraction."

"That was really good," said Steven. He could see the pain in her eyes, and he wished he could make it stop.

"OW!" said Lila 45 seconds later.

"Alright, let's go again, just like before." Eddie and Steven held Lila's knees back while she pushed, and Steven counted the seconds out loud. "…nine, ten. Good job, babe!"

"I can't do this! I can't!" cried Lila.

"Yes you can," he said as he wiped the sweat from her forehead. "You're doing it."

"No, I can't!" said Lila, "Dammit, Steven, make it stop! OH, GOD!"

"We're getting real close, Lila," said the doctor. "Another few good pushes like before and we'll have Baby A out."

"I can't do it!" sobbed Lila. "Cut me open!"

"No, Lila, come on, just a couple more pushes and it'll be over and we'll have our babies. You can do it, I know you can!"

"Let's go, Lila!" said the doctor. "You don't want to waste this contraction, let's push!" Lila took in a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could, focusing intently on Steven's counting.

"…seven, eight, nine, ten. See, you did it!" he said.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God!" Lila cried and looked at her mother.

"You're doing really well with this, Lila." Eddie kissed the side of her sweaty forehead. "You're almost there!"

"One more push and we'll have the baby's head out," said Dr. Mianni.

"Really?" asked Steven.

"Really!" said the doctor. "Come see for yourself." Steven didn't hesitate for a moment. He took a couple steps towards the end of the bed and looked down, and a huge smile came over his face.

"Oh Lila, it's right there, babe, I mean _right_ there!"

No sooner did he complete that statement than the next contraction arrived.

"Okay, Lila, give it everything you've got. You're a Reagan, we're tough!" said Eddie. "This is the hardest part, after this it's easy!" Lila pushed even harder this time than she had before, desperate to make the pain go away and knowing there was only one way to do it.

Steven finished his count. "…nine, ten. That was great, babe!"

"Head is out!" said Dr. Mianni as she suctioned the baby's nose and mouth with a small bulb syringe.

"OH, SHIT, GET IT OUT!" screamed Lila.

"Listen to me, Lila," said the doctor. "With the next contraction, I need you to give me a little push, okay? Just a little one and we'll have Baby A."

"Get it out NOW!" she screamed.

"We'll have it out in just a second, I promise" said Dr. Mianni. Lila finally felt another contraction, and gave the doctor the little push she asked for.

"OW! GOD!" screamed Lila as the doctor rotated the baby's shoulders and it's little body slipped out.

"There we go, little one" said Dr. Mianni as she suctioned the baby's nose and mouth a bit more.

"Oh my God, Steven!" cried Lila. "Oh my God…"

"Okay, Dad," said the doctor. "Time to tell everyone pink or blue!" Steven was never so nervous or excited in his life than at that moment. He took a couple steps towards the doctor and looked down at his child. He looked back at Lila, and his tears were already falling.

"It's a girl! We have a little girl, Lila!"

"Oh my God!" sobbed Lila. Steven returned to Lila's side and they shared a long, sweet kiss and wiped the still-falling tears from each other's eyes.

Lila only had a few moments to bond with her daughter before the contractions began again. Eddie supervised her granddaughter's first moments in the world while Steven continued to help Lila bring their next child into the world. Eight minutes and ten seconds later, Steven announced to Lila and Eddie, "It's a boy! We have a son…a son and a daughter!"

The next moments were a flurry of activity as Lila delivered the afterbirth for their son and each baby was washed, weighed and wrapped before being returned to their exhausted and ecstatic mother. "Are they Okay?" she sobbed looking at the nurses.

"They are. She is the bigger one, 5 lbs 9 oz and he is a little smaller, 5 lbs 4 oz but he's going to be tall like his Daddy…21 inches to her 19 inches. They are beautiful."

Lila looked down at her tiny infants both quiet and content for the moment. She had a feeling that wouldn't last long.

 **A/N: Short chapter today, but I couldn't make you all wait until tonight for this update, I love you guys…Babies Reagan have made their appearance and a good size for twins too. I just won't tell you their names for a couple chapters…;)**

 **Next Update – June 28** **th** **– Members of the Reagan family meet its newest members.**


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

While Steven accompanied his newborns through the medical testing and Dr. Mianni finished with Lila, Eddie headed out from the delivery room to the family waiting area. Everyone had been gathered for hours awaiting the birth of the twins. Jamie was facing the door with Frank. He was nervous, not about the sex or the size of the babies, but about his own little girl.

"Here comes Eddie," Frank announced standing up. He was wearing a surgical mask to protect his fragile lungs from the hospital air but even through that they could see his smile.

Jamie's first thought was Eddie looked exhausted, but the smile on her face melted his heart. Joey hurried over to his mother, he was so excited to be a Godfather.

"Well, don't make us wait anymore," Frank prompted. "What are they? What are their names?"

"Baby A is now Baby Girl Tenney," Eddie replied with tears still running down her cheeks. "And Baby B is now Baby Boy Tenney. They are perfect, all ten fingers, all ten toes each and just the most precious things." Eddie sniffed. "Their names we have to wait, Steven and Lila want to announce them to everyone together and…" Eddie raised her hand feeling a little faint.

"Whoa, Mom…easy…" Joey grabbed Eddie and eased her into a chair. "You've been on your feet way too long."

Eddie wiped her eyes, "I just need a minute, I'm fine. Jamie, Joey and Frank, you go in first, as soon as they are settled. Then Danny, Linda, and Erin you three, and Jack, Rita, Molly, and Sean you finish, only a few minutes each. Lila is being really protective so she might not be letting everyone hold them."

"I was like that when Jack was born," Linda replied. "I didn't let Danny hold him for almost an hour. It's normal and natural."

Eddie nodded, she always regretted not being able to hold Lila those first moments after her birth, she felt that had strained their relationship but today, it felt like all that changed being present for the birth of her grandchildren.

"You all right, baby?" Jamie asked rubbing her back. "Linda, can you take her to get something to eat and Eddie put your feet up and rest, okay?"

"Jamie, we just became grandparents but I'm not ready for the grave okay?" Eddie stood up and put her arms around Jamie. "Congratulations, Grandpa."

Jamie closed Eddie in his arms, things had been very stressed between them. Maybe these babies would be what they needed to get things back on track.

Twenty minutes later, Steven appeared with a huge smile on his face. "Lila and the twins are ready for visitors. She's asking for you again as well Eddie."

Eddie smiled, "Let's go grandpa. Frank are you okay?"

Frank was breathing hard and had begun coughing. "I'm good," he wheezed. "I want to see…"

Jamie rubbed Frank's back, "Easy, Dad. Just give yourself a minute. That's it." Frank began to relax. Joey held Eddie's arm while Jamie focused on Frank.

Ten minutes later Frank, Jamie, Eddie, and Joey joined Lila and the twins in the post-partum suite. Lila had both twins in her arms, the girl kicking her blankets and screwing up her face, the boy lying quietly suckling an imaginary bottle.

"Oh my," Jamie gasped as his eye lit on his grandchildren for the first time. "If we thought your little girl would be the shy one we know differently, don't we? May I?"

Lila smiled, "Yes, just one at a time. Joey you take the other one…" Lila watched as Jamie reached for his granddaughter seeing she would need a more expert had. Joey lifted his new nephew, the boy just stayed calm and quiet.

The little girl kicked when Jamie took her into his arms, "Oh no, no, leave your blankie on, leave that on, you need that." Jamie rocked slowly back and forth kissing the newborn girls head, "She's so tiny. You weren't quite this small," Jamie remembered. "But you were feisty like this. She's precious, Kitten. What am I going to call you, hmmm? I think I like Cookie Bun, that's what you'll be."

Eddie's eyes misted over looking at her husband holding their granddaughter. Soon, Joey and Jamie switched babies and Jamie fawned over the little boy christening him Munchkin. As Jamie bounced the newborn boy, he opened his tiny mouth and let out the loudest holler Jamie remembered any baby making ever.

"Oh, I think he's hungry Dad," Lila said reaching for her baby boy. Eddie had taken the girl from Joey and handed her to Frank. He shook his head, his chest was working hard and he was frightened that he'd cough on the new baby.

Steven returned with his parents. They had arrived shortly after receiving the call their grandchildren had made their appearance. The rest of the Reagans agreed that Steven needed to let his parents see their newest family members.

"This one is the girl," Steven said taking the newborn from Eddie and showing her to his parents. He didn't place the child though, he was too afraid of Lila jumping into defensive Mommy mode.

"Oh, she's precious," Maura whispered. "What's her name?"

"We haven't announced the names to anyone yet, but we'll be doing that at dinner at Jamie and Eddie's house next Sunday. You are welcome to join us there."

Joshua smiled, "It's Friday, and you aren't going to reveal the names until Sunday?"

"Not my idea but I'm not arguing with a woman that just gave birth to twins," Steven laughed. "She's not her mother's daughter, she's all Reagan and she's scary."

Maura laughed, "May I…" But the baby girl began to cry.

"I think later might be better, she's hungry now too," Steven replied. "It's all right, sweetie. Mommy will feed you as soon as your brother is finished. It's all right…"

Steven patted his daughter's little back until Lila told him she was finished with their son. Steven took the boy for a burp and to see his other grandparents while Lila nursed their daughter.

While Maura and Josh had their time with the grandchildren, Jamie and Eddie sat with the rest of the Reagan family in the waiting room. "How does it feel?" Danny asked his younger brother who became a grandpa before he did.

"It feels amazing," Jamie smiled. "Your turn soon, I'm sure. I know Jack can't wait to have a family."

Danny smiled, "When she's done feeding we'll just take a quick peek…Jamie look at Eddie…"

Jamie turned back to where Eddie sat on the chair hands covering her face.

Jamie rushed over to his side placing a hand over her back comfortingly. "Eddie, what's wrong babe?"

Eddie leaned over the chair suddenly feeling dizzy, giving into the shock that her baby just had babies.

"Wasn't it just yesterday we had Lila," Eddie whispered, looking at Jamie.

Smiling Jamie sat on the little chair beside his wife. Jamie pulled Eddie onto his lap and slipped his hands around her waist. "Yeah, I can't believe our princess just had babies, we're grandparents."

Eddie sighed resting her head against him listening to his heart beating. His hands slowly roamed against her waist which had a little more weight than when they first met. Eddie lay curled against him thinking about being a grandmother when the realization Jamie's hands were over her came through. "Jamie, we're in a hospital…" Eddie blushed and slid off Jamie's lap. She hadn't realized the only thing keeping her upright had been her husband.

"Eddie!" Jamie dropped to his knee and looked up at Linda. Joey and Molly had left to bring Frank home just minutes ago. Linda dropped next to Jamie and Eddie, she checked Eddie's pulse, she touched Eddie's face, her skin was cool and dry. "Eddie, how much did you drink or eat during Lila's labor?"

Eddie shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, I don't remember…"

"Danny get her some snacks with salt, like a bag of pretzels and a cola. Eddie just be still."

Danny hurried to get the food while Jamie lifted his wife to lay in his lap. This was the closest Eddie let Jamie get in a while and he relished in it even though Eddie was feeling ill. "Drink this," Jamie encouraged when Danny appeared. "As soon as you feel stronger we'll get you home for some rest."

"I promised I'd…"

"Eddie you need to take care of you. Rest here with Jamie, we'll just go peak at the babies and come on back. We'll stay over tonight and take care of Frank so you can rest," Linda said taking firm charge. "Rest with Jamie."

"Eddie," Jamie sighed. "You have to take care of yourself honey. Please baby…" Eddie drank and sighed. "I'm sorry, I was focused on our daughter, on our family."

"I know but you are important too," Jamie kissed her head. "We have a very important Sunday dinner coming up, the babies first huh?"

Eddie smiled, "Yes, our first as grandparents. I still can't believe it."

A short time later, the families visits had come to an end and Steven and Lila were left alone with their babies. Steven looked at his wife, the hospital light shining on her, he never thought she looked more beautiful.

"When I met you," Steven whispered to his wife. "I didn't think I could ever think you were more beautiful, then I saw you on our wedding day and now I see you with our babies to your chest and it's…"

Lila smiled, "It is really incredible isn't it. They doctor said we can go home Sunday, so we'll go right to dinner and announce their names. Are you parents going to come?"

"Yes, they are anxious to hear their names and hold the little man here. Why didn't your grandpa hold them I thought he'd be all over…?"

"Mom said his COPD was making him cough and he was afraid to cough on them. I kept my promise though, he saw his great grandchildren be born."

Lila took a deep breath, "I am not ready for him not to be across from Dad at the head of the table. I am not."

Steven put his arm around her, "I know you aren't, and he is so strong inside, he's going to want to see their first smile, first word, first step…You gave him so much to live for." Steven dropped a kiss on Lila's lips as their babies began to fuss again. Steven got up to retrieve their babies, this time handing their daughter to Lila first. Steven rocked their son using his little pacifier to calm him until it was his turn, with the two of them working together, they'd have this parenting thing down pat in now time, so far it was a snap.

 **A/N: Sorry, didn't reveal the names yet, that's saved for the next and final chapter of this fourth installment in the Tough saga. The next installment, titled One of Our Own will begin posting on Monday July 11** **th** **when I return from vacation.**

 **Next Update – June 30** **th** **– The twins come home from the hospital, the names are revealed, and Jamie and Eddie take a step toward fixing their marriage.**


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty One

"They'll be here any minute!" Linda gushed hanging up the phone. Steven had just called to say that he and Lila had left with the twins.

"Oh, Linda, get those pink balloons," Eddie said reaching up. "I want everything to be perfect."

"Careful, Mom," Joey warned seeing Eddie standing on a chair.

"I'm fine, Joe, bring in that tray of appetizers to everyone in the living room. Don't let the family rush the babies."

Joey went into the living room surprised to see Nikki had just arrived from Boston to meet the newest arrivals. "Aunt Linda says they are just a few minutes away and Mom says not to crowd them." Joey set down a tray of potato puffs and crab balls as the door opened again to reveal Lila and Steven each carrying a new born baby.

The family erupted in a flood of applause as the new family came inside. They had revealed the sexes of the babies at the hospital but wanted to keep their names a secret until they made their debut. Frank was the first to ask, "So what are their names."

Lila, who was holding her daughter, walked over to her, "Grandpa, this is your great granddaughter, Reagan Marie Tenney…"

Frank choked up, "Reagan…your family name?"

Lila nodded, "She's every bit a Reagan as she is a Tenney. This is her brother, your great grandson, Peter Finnerty Tenney, but we like Finn for short."

Frank now held both babies, each even smaller than his smallest baby. His salty tears wet their blankets.

Eddie came into the living room hear the commotion. "Oh there are my little babies…" She smiled seeing Frank enjoying this moment. Eddie gave her baby a hug, "How are you feeling?"

"Still a little sore but otherwise, great," Lila replied. "I just told their names. Grandpa is really happy."

"Hi, Aunt Eddie," Nikki greeted. She hadn't told her aunt and uncle she was going to try to come. Nikki gave Eddie a hug looking the older woman over. Her petite frame had definitely filled out, she must have added close to twenty pounds since Nikki's last visit.

Jamie could read his niece like a book and he knew one of her remarks was forthcoming. She'd been that way since high school and Erin had done little to restrain her, in fact the few times other adults had tried, Erin made excuses for her. Jamie quickly pulled Nikki for a hug staving off, at least for the moment, the inevitable.

The family passed the two newborns around like footballs, but somehow they kept ending up back in Frank's arms. Reagan appeared to be calm but Finn liked to everyone know he was around. He would cry out for no reason, kick off his blankets, and flail his little arms and legs. "You are a feisty little boy, aren't you?" Linda cooed to him making sure the baby found its way to Rita. She wanted a grandchild of her own to spoil as soon as the priest said I do.

During dinner, Joey made a toast to the two new lives gracing their family, his godchildren. The new grandparents and uncle had spent a lot of time at the hospital but except for Linda and Erin the rest of the family gave Lila and Steven space. Now was their time to bond with the newborns. As the meals were passed even Eddie loaded her plate. She had given up on starving herself to lose weight, the pounds piled on anyway but seemed to have stopped with a weight gain of 38 pounds. She was still beautiful to him and carry with weight well.

"Aunt Eddie," Nikki whispered from her seat between her aunt and her husband. "Should you really be eating this food? Mom said you were on a diet again."

"Well, uh, I'm not doing that plan now, Nikki," Eddie replied. "I decided to maintain my weight instead of trying to lose."

"You really do need to rethink that, you've gotten so heavy and Uncle Jamie can't really help if you make yourself sick, he's come a long way but…"

"I can help my wife no matter what her condition thank you, Nikki." Nikki was trying to keep her tone soft and private but Jamie felt his Irish temper and brought the conversation public much to Eddie's chagrin.

Jamie was fuming, he saw Eddie immediately push the food around on her plate not really eating. Her hand shook as she drank water to keep from showing Nikki her words hurt.

Nikki looked up seeing Eddie pushing around her food. "Sorry I didn't mean to upset up just it's not healthy especially at your age."

Eddie met her niece's eye begging her to stop but Nikki continued.

"I did some research and it's important for women especially, you could have a heart attack with all that added weight. We all love you, we want to see you healthy. I can help you, we can be buddies."

That was all it took for Eddie to burst into tears a rush from the table.

Jamie fixed Nikki with an ice cold Reagan stare, "It's not in her control Nikki. She needs to take this medication to stay alive and whether she gained 20 pounds or 200 pounds I would rather have her alive than dead. If I lose her to a heart attack, good, it beats having to watch her suffer while she dies of cancer."

Jamie threw his napkin on the plate and rushed to console his wife. Jamie found Eddie leaning over the kitchen sink with the water running.

"I'm sorry Eddie Nikki was out of line and I'm going to talk with her," Jamie soothed. "I should have done it years ago, many years ago."

Eddie turned around her eyes red and bloodshot from crying. "She's right Jamie, I am fat as a pig. I am puffy and bloated and it's not ever cause I'm pregnant or anything worth it. It's these stupid pills…How can you stand being married to this?"

Jamie rushed over wrapping his arms around his wife rocking her while holding her close. "No baby, no you're beautiful, smart and caring. Ssh, I'll always love you Eddie ." Jamie held her tightly against his strong body. "I will take you this weight of heavier still if it means you're healthy and cancer free. The only way I can't stand to see you is suffering, all right? Stop this…no more tears. It's a happy day."

Eddie and Jamie returned to the table, Nikki was embarrassed at her uncle's words and turned the topic adding some parenting advice to the wealth that Lila was getting no one daring to bring up the faux pas. Danny and Joey along with the boys cleared the table while Linda and Erin set up dessert. With Eddie seated and content cradling babies, Jamie pulled Nikki aside, "This is the last time you speak out of turn at this table. You did it when you were a kid and we let you get away with it, I thought it was smart for you to exercise your mind but you never seemed to learn one important fact, not every situation needs your opinion. If you express an untoward opinion again at this table, I don't care if it is still Dad's house on paper, you will not be welcome at this table again. Am I clear?"

"I was only…" Nikki broke in.

"Expressing an opinion on something without having all the fact, you did it for years and you still do it. That ends today. I'm sorry your mother never reeled you in before now but I will not allow my wife, who fights daily to get out of bed and go about her life to be upset like this by my own flesh and blood. I will not. Do you understand?"

Nikki nodded and was wise enough not to say anything else. Jamie went and sat down beside Eddie holding her while she cuddled with little Finn. Just as Linda and Erin placed the cake on the table, Jamie noticed Joey taking Molly aside, he smiled, he was finally doing it.

Jamie watched as his son dropped to one knee, offering to his Molly a ring that he and Jamie picked out together. Jamie nudged Eddie and nodded as Molly threw her arms around Joey's neck and the happy couple rushed back inside. "Everyone," Joey said clanging a coffee cup for attention. "Everyone, I have one more thing to add to the celebration and since we are all together, there's no better time to tell you. The Reagan family is about to grow by one more. I asked Molly to marry me and she said she would!"

Cheers sounded from every member of the family, except a sleeping Reagan who was awakened by the roar and not happy about it. Lila rushed to comfort her daughter and congratulate her brother. Jack clapped Joey on the back, "Welcome to the club, cousin. It's going to be a terrific ride!"

"Are you all right?" Jamie asked finding Eddie sitting on the couch in the dimly lit living room.

"I'm fine" Eddie replied. "Still doesn't feel real, you know? One of our babies has two of her own and the other just got engaged. We're old Reagan."

Jamie slid his arm around Eddie's shoulders, "No matter, you are still just as beautiful as the day I married you and no amount of weight gain or skin blemish or anything is going to change my feeling."

Eddie sighed, "Still, I think I'm going to start working out at a gym or maybe running again. Just to try to get off a little of it. It's going to be a challenge to find a nice gown for Joey's wedding."

Jamie's grip tightened, "Stop worrying about that. I mean it, Joey would rather have you healthy, I'd rather have you healthy...I mean it." Jamie looked at the album in her lap. "Oh look at that...Was he ever that small?"

Eddie touched the picture of Joey the day he came home from the hospital. "His little bottom fit in my hand," Jamie remembered. "Look there he is with Pop. He's smiling up there with two new Reagans and Joey...I heard Molly say that she wants a big family."

Eddie laid her head on Jamie's shoulders, "We are lucky." She turned the page. "Look there he is getting baptized...He hated the water on his head, he was never big on his bath or anything and he always peed..."

Jamie laughed remembering getting sprayed a few times giving Joey as bath. "He's getting married..." Jamie sighed.

Eddie turned a few more pages, "Oh look at me...I was HUGE..." The picture was of the whole family on Long Island days before Eddie gave birth to Lila.

"There's our Joey, holding onto his Momma even then. You two have such a special bond. I'm surprised he didn't jump when he saw you crying..."

"Like you did?" Eddie asked. "I always let Nikki get to me. I'm sorry Jamie she did NOT grow out of her college know it all phase."

Jamie nodded "I told her today regardless of if this is Dad's place or not, she won't be welcome if she EVER says anything like that to you again."

Eddied leaned up and gave Jamie a kiss, "Look at this...remember that dress?" The dress was pink with a little white lace overlay and open ruffle sleeves. "I think I still have that packed away someplace I'll give it to Lila for Reagan to wear."

"That's a great idea..." Jamie nuzzled Eddie's hair and began to kiss down her neck. Soon the album was pushed off to the side and forgotten as Jamie leaned over his wife gently kissing and caressing her, showing her his love and his desire after all these years.

"Jamie..I'm a grandma!" Eddie laughed.

"You're not my grandma," Jamie replied as the phone rang on the table. Both were fully prepared to ignore it until Frank called out, "Jamie, get off your wife, it's Lila!"

Eddie blushed, "How does he do that?"

Eddie picked up and immediately heard the babies at the top of their voices. "Mom..." Lila was crying too sniffling. "I think I broken them."

Eddie sighed, "I'll be right there."

And so it began...

 **A/N: There you have it, the final installment of And Baby Makes… Special thanks to all of your who have followed me through this and previous stories and welcome to new followers. Special thanks to Lawslave for her constant support and previewing all of these chapters and to Yanks20 for bumping me along if I got stuck on dialogue. Also thanks to the mother's out there that gave me pushes for events in Lila's pregnancy.**

 **Next Update – The Premiere installment of One of Our Own – It will debut the week of July 11** **th** **and will follow the Reagan family through Joey's marriage, some difficulties for new mom Lila, and a few bumps for our favorite love birds.**


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